All I Want
by magical-mystery-girl
Summary: For as long as she had known him, time always froze whenever Draco's eyes connected with hers. Suddenly finding herself ostracized from the Weasleys as a result of an argument with Ron, Hermione might finally be able to give Draco something he has wanted for a long time, something he never thought he could have, and something she never thought he would want.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter doesn't belong to me…unless this is some freakish parallel universe where it does…hey, one can dream, right?

**A/N**: So this story has been ready for a while now, but I have just been too lazy to try and post it. Now however, I'm feeling an odd craving to post something, so I decided this was as good as anything else I had written. This story is technically a oneshot, but as I was writing it, it got to be so big that I had to split it up into three chapters. So hopefully, if enough reviews are given, (I never thought I would hold a story hostage for reviews, but what can you do? I'm an addict…lol) this story will be completely up soon! Hope you enjoy!

**All I want Chapter 1**

'_Is there something on my face?_' Hermione inconspicuously lifted a hand to brush some hair out of her eyes as she looked around. Everyone was staring at her while sharing small laughs and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why. When she had stepped out of the floo just minutes earlier she had been surprised to hear almost complete silence as everyone simply stopped and stared at her with knowing and mischievous looks before conversations picked up again in whispered voices.

Squaring her shoulders Hermione pressed on, entering her office and closing the door behind her with a relieved sigh. What on earth was going on? With movements that suggested the frequency with which they occurred, Hermione placed her bag down on one of the two vacant chairs in the office besides her own; shuffled around some errant papers on her desk and sat down with heavy movements.

She used to love her job, honestly she did, passing laws granting werewolves and elves their own rights and helping the centaurs regain control over their lands was, at one point, a very rewarding job that Hermione loved to do. Now however, with her main goals accomplished, the job had grown tiresome and a little more than exasperating with its repetitiveness. Not to mention the fact that she hadn't had the most relaxing weekend in her life.

Granted it couldn't be said to have been her worst by any stretch of the imagination, but it had not been pleasant. She and her boyfriend Ron had gone out on a date Friday night, as was their custom, and he had proposed to her. To be completely honest she had been expecting this to happen for some time now, but it wasn't the excited sort of expectant that one would think she should feel; rather a heavy sense of dread had surrounded the moment in her mind. So when Ron had knelt to the ground and pulled out the most tacky ring she had ever seen, it had come as no surprise that the overwhelming dread and discomfort had lead to her nearly needing to vomit.

She had kindly told him that she did love him, but that she was going to need some time to think about whether or not to accept his proposal. Ron had been upset, naturally, but had agreed to let her take her time. He was kind to her for the rest of the evening until he had dropped her off at the apartment she shared with Luna Lovegood and his sister Ginny.

With a voice that was full of suggestions he had asked if any of them were home, and when she had invited him in, telling him that no, there was no one home, he had accosted her. His lips attacked hers and he pressed her roughly against the wall, letting his hands roam across her body. It had taken her a few stunned moments to figure out what was happening and react. However, when Ron didn't move away as he should have when she pushed him, she pulled out her wand and hexed him across the room.

An argument had ensued, ending with Ron screaming at her and slamming the door behind himself as he left; leaving Hermione to spend the weekend switching between remorseful, frustrated, and angry. Her remorse stemmed from feeling that perhaps Ron was right, after three years of being together, and being practically engaged at that, maybe it was about time that she let him…but then her remorse would switch to frustrated and angry. How dare he try and force her to do something she did not want to do and then make _her_ feel guilty for saying no.

Needless to say, it had been a long and exhausting weekend. Hermione had made her decision about whether or not to accept his proposal and she knew that come lunch time she would head up to where Ron worked with Harry and Neville in the Auror office, and return his ring to him and explain that while she could be convinced to stay with him as his girlfriend, she just wasn't ready to get married yet.

Then while she was there she would offer her congratulations to Neville on receiving his dream job as Herbology professor starting next fall, give Harry a hug, maybe try and sneak a small look at Draco Malfoy, and come back to her office to finish out the day. Hermione gave a contented sigh; with her day planned out, she turned her attention to the endless piles of paperwork and research that rested on her desk.

Soon enough the dreaded lunch break hour arrived and Hermione regretfully forced herself to her feet. Needlessly she smoothed her black high waist pencil skirt and ran a hand quickly over red silk top covered stomach that felt packed with nervous butterflies. Giving herself a mini pep talk she opened her office door and set course for Ron's office.

Again she felt the continuous stares at her back as she walked by, and still she could not fathom what was so interesting about her. Finally deciding that it didn't really matter she held her head high and turned the last corner to enter the Auror office. It was suspiciously empty at first glance, but as she made her way past the entry area back to where the offices of the various individual aurors were located she noticed a small group of aurors gathered around some commotion.

Intrigued and a little concerned Hermione moved over to the group just in time to see Draco Malfoy shove Ron up against the wall with his arm pressed tightly beneath Ron's chin on his throat. There was a dark look on Draco's features as he glared into Ron's increasingly red face.

"Draco!" Hermione exclaimed as she quickly attempted to shove her way through the group surrounding Draco and Ron. Draco didn't seem to hear her, and no one else seemed to care that Draco was clearly depriving Ron of much need oxygen as they were all too busy cheering and egging the two men on.

Just as Hermione finally reached the epicenter of the commotion she heard Draco growl, "If I ever hear you say anything like that about her again I _will _kill you Weasley! Hermione doesn't deserve to be treated that way by filth like you!" and with a final shove Draco removed his arm from Ron's throat and turned away as Ron fell to the ground gasping for air.

Grey eyes locked with hazel as Draco noticed Hermione standing there watching him. Draco's eyes widened momentarily before they shot to the floor, refusing to look up as he shoved his way through the crowd without another word. Hermione watched him go in shock and slight horror at what she had just witnessed; she could have sworn Draco would never have done anything like that, yet she had seen it with her own eyes.

A moan brought her attention back to Ron and she hurried to her knees beside him, "Ron, are you alright?" she asked reaching her hand out to grab his arm, unaware of the other aurors dispersing.

"I'm fine!" Ron snapped shoving her hand roughly away, "That git couldn't hurt me if he tried," Ron stumbled to his feet, his face still red.

Hermione shook her head and tried once again to assist Ron, not letting his comments, which were obviously fueled by his pride, get to her; but again Ron shoved her off.

"What in the name of Godric is going on here?" the familiar voice of her other best friend Harry demanded as the man appeared, clearly just getting back from his own lunch break.

"That ferret Malfoy just attacked me is what happened!" Ron answered, appearing to suddenly want to play the victim, "I didn't do anything to him and the next thing I know I'm being thrown against the wall with him trying to suffocate me!"

Harry looked around at the three other aurors still around, Neville included, "Is this true?" he asked them.

All of the aurors but Neville nodded, "Yes," one of them shouted, "I saw the whole thing, Weasley did nothing to provoke Malfoy. The guy just snapped."

Draco suddenly appeared at the other end of the hall, "Malfoy!" Harry shouted, "My office! Now!" Harry pointed to the Head Auror's office and waited until Draco had entered before following.

"Ferret boy is going to get it now," Ron snickered making Hermione frown at him, "Hello Hermione," he said, suddenly appearing friendly, "Come to apologize for the way you acted last Friday?" he asked.

Hermione frowned at him, _she_ needed to apologize? What about him?

Before she could say anything Ron continued, "Don't worry about it babe, I already forgave you for that a while ago. Now I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to go drop off some paperwork in Marcus' office and talk about some boring security stuff. Love you!" and with a quick peck on the lips he was gone.

Hermione gaped after him in surprise, unsure of what had just happened. That had most certainly not been part of her plan for the day. A loud bang was heard as the door to Harry's office was slammed open, "Of course you'd chose to listen to him over me! Why am I even surprised Potter? I come to work, I do my job—a job I am quite good at thank you very much-and I never break the rules; yet you won't believe _me_ over _Weasley_ even thought he only shows up half of the time, and even when he is here he doesn't actually do anything other than look like an idiot!"

Draco's back appeared through the door, "I thought you were better than that Potter, clearly I was wrong. Don't worry about any 'disciplinary action', I _quit!_ I don't need this!" and with that Draco turned on his heel and stalked back to his office, flicked his wand, sending several small packages into his pocket, and stormed back down the hall towards Hermione.

Again their eyes locked and that ever present zinging sensation soared through every nerve in her body as she watched him leave. Draco swallowed harshly and lowered his gaze with a shake of his head as he passed her, appearing hopeless.

Suddenly deciding that maybe Draco was right and that Harry hadn't heard the full story, Hermione scurried up the hall to Harry's office just as Neville moved to enter as well. Neville's warm brown eyes met hers and he nodded for her to go ahead of him before following her into Harry's office.

Harry lifted his head from where it had been resting on his desk to look at his two friends, "What can I do for you two?" he asked with a tight smile.

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but Neville spoke before she could, "Draco was defending her," he stated clearly, in a voice that portrayed the confidence and demanded the respect that he had earned during the war.

Harry's eyebrows raised, "Defending who?" he asked.

"Hermione," Neville responded, "Ron has been spreading rumors about her all morning. He was claiming to have finally shagged her and telling everyone explicit details about their encounter. Draco finally couldn't take any more and only did what I would have done had Ron opened his mouth one more time."

Hermione gasped, was _that_ why people had been giving her those looks all day? "Are you sure he's been saying things like that Neville?" she asked, interrupting what was sure to be the same question coming from Harry's own lips.

Neville nodded, "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been standing right next to him while he told Barthens about…it. It wasn't seconds later Draco hit him and they started fighting."

Harry's expression of shock rivaled Hermione's, but before he could say any more there was a knock on the door, "Come in," Harry called, waiting for the door to open.

"Is it true?" Ron asked sauntering through the door like he owned the place, "The ferret finally quit?"

Hermione simply stared at Ron, trying to decide how she had ever thought she knew him. Actually, now that she thought about it, she did know him, well enough to know that this was very much in his petty nature. Harry's voice brought her back to the present, "Neville has just been informing me of a different side of the story about what happened between you and Draco."

Ron raised an eyebrow and his eyes seemed to harden a little as he looked over at Neville, "Oh?" was all he said.

"Yes oh," Harry stated, "It seems Draco was responding to some rumors you were spreading about Hermione."

"Rumors?" Ron had the gall to look confused, "What rumors?"

Neville gave Hermione an apologetic look before he spoke; telling everyone exactly what rumors Ron had been spreading. More and more tears gathered in Hermione's eyes as she felt each rumor slice her heart and self-esteem to shreds. There was silence in the room after Neville spoke, it was sharply broken when Hermione began hitting Ron with her clenched fists, "How could you!" she shouted, hitting him as hard as he could, finding some perverse pleasure from the pain Ron seemed to feel from her hits.

Ron suddenly seemed to find his senses as he grabbed Hermione's wrists in a too-tight grasp, "Hermione!" he shouted to get her attention, "You don't honestly believe Neville and _Malfoy_ over _me_ do you?" he gave a weak laugh, "Because if you do you aren't as smart as I thought you were."

Hermione glared at him. Lifting her foot she drove the heel of her stilettos into his own foot as hard as she could, causing him to yell in pain, "Then would _you_ care to tell me just why everyone in the building has been giving me lewd looks all day, and whispering behind my back then? If it isn't because of some rumors then why else?"

Ron collapsed into one of Harry's extra chairs clutching his foot, "There are rumors going around babe, but they weren't started by me. Malfoy was the one who was spreading them."

"Then why were you telling them to Barthens?" Neville asked pointedly, coming to Hermione's aid.

Ron glared at him, "Because I was telling him to look out for people who were spreading those rumors so he could put a stop to them. Obviously _you_ aren't as smart as I thought you were."

Neville looked over at Harry, realizing that Ron's argument was likely to sway him, "I know what I saw Harry," he stated clearly, "Draco was clearly defending Hermione from _Ron's_ rumors."

With a snort Ron managed to force himself to his feet, "Well then I guess it's a good thing you've resigned to be a lowly professor then isn't it. Obviously your memory is faulty."

Neville's face was one of incredulousness as he stared at Ron, before turning back to Harry, "Harry—" he started but Harry raised his hand.

"There is no proof either way," Harry commented, "You have no proof that Ron is lying and I have no proof that you aren't. There's nothing I can do."

Neville's shoulders slumped and he turned to leave, giving Hermione another apologetic look, knowing there was nothing else he could do, Harry's word was just about law after all. Hermione couldn't help but feel more than a little upset with her two friends that had so firmly and easily shot down Neville.

"Well there is something _I_ can do," she snapped raising her wand and stunning both Ron and Harry, "You Harry Potter, are being an idiot! You and I both know that like Draco said, Ron can be flakey on the best of days! Not trusting Draco I understand, you never did grow up when it came to judging people, but Neville? Neville has never _once_ lied to you, I can't say the same for Ron! And as for you!" Hermione turned to face Ron, pulling out her wand, "You are nothing but a lying, manipulating, lazy, arrogant, pathetic excuse of a _boy_, and if I ever see you again it will be too soon!" Hermione pulled the ring box out of her pocket and threw it at him, "By the way, I was going to say no anyway, but now I think it's more of a 'not a snowball's chance in hell' sort of a no."

A few hexes later, thrown at both boys, though Ron bore the brunt of them, Hermione turned and flounced out the door, heading for Neville's office.

"Thank you Neville," she murmured, entering the small room and moving to give Neville a hug, "Thank you for being such a good friend."

Neville hugged her back in surprise, "You mean you actually believe me over Ron?" he asked her incredulously.

Hermione pulled back with a small laugh and nodded, "It's not that hard, believe me. Spreading rumors about something that never happened just because I refused to let it happen sounds just like something Ron would do," Hermione ducked her head to prevent Neville from seeing the small patches of red on her cheeks, "And beating someone up for saying something like that about me, even if he doesn't care about me, sounds like something Draco would do."

Neville smiled, "Don't tell Ron and Harry," he started with a twinkle in his eyes, "But Draco and I have actually become rather close recently. I'd even go as far as to say we are really close friends," Neville propped himself up on his desk, "So trust me when I say that Draco definitely cares about you," he paused, "As much as you care about him."

Blinking Hermione frowned at her close friend, "What are you talking about?" she demanded, trying her best to school her features to show surprise.

Neville rolled his eyes, "Don't play dumb Hermione, you and I both know exactly what I'm talking about."

Hermione ducked her head with a sigh, "Does anyone else know?" she asked as she looked back at him with a small grimace.

A shrug was his response, "Luna may know, though you can never tell what she does and doesn't know," he stated with a fond smile. It was no secret that Luna and Neville had been dancing around each other for years, so Hermione just gave a small smile back.

"Well regardless," Hermione cleared her throat, "I am quite certain that Draco would never stoop to being in love with a Mudblood."

Shaking his head Neville placed his hands on Hermione's shoulders, "First of all, do not ever use that word about yourself again," he told her pointedly, "Second, I know for a fact that Draco doesn't even remotely think about you in that negative light; and third…is _that_ how you feel about him? Love?" Neville's eyes turned teasing.

Hermione's face went red as she realized what he was getting at, "No—yes… I don't—I have to get back to work now," she mumbled incoherently before scurrying out of the door, leaving a chuckling Neville Longbottom behind.

Hermione's slight jovial mood was dashed as she once again noticed that people were still giving her looks. Knowing now what the looks were from-the false lies that Ron had spread- did nothing to help her deal with the lewd way her coworkers were looking at her.

As she entered the receiving area of her own department she caught sight of her department head on the far side of the room. Tall with the typical Weasley red hair, it had been a shock to find out that Percy Weasley had decided that his true passions lay not in following the Minister of Magic around like some lost puppy, but being head of the Department of Laws and Regulations where his abilities could truly flourish until such time as the Minister position became a viable option for him.

Never before had the sight of her superior annoyed Hermione more, particularly when Percy turned and caught sight of her. It was clear from the expression on his face that she was the reason he had come out of his office, an occurrence that only happened when trouble was occurring.

Sighing Hermione attempted to squelch the tightness in her chest as she headed towards her office, knowing without a doubt that Percy would follow. She had just barely managed to sit down in her chair when her office door opened and closed, signaling Percy's arrival.

"Miss Granger," he started out formally, standing importantly before her desk with his hawk eyes peering down at her, "It has come to my attention that there have been certain rumors floating around the Ministry about you and Ronald Weasley."

Hermione refrained from giving a humorless snort of laughter; it had always amazed her how easily Percy was able to distance himself from his friends and family while at work. Often he referred to his own family members as if he had never met them before, "I am aware," she responded, doing her best to imitate his business like formality.

Percy frowned, "While I am sure that your sexual encounters with Ronald Weasley may have seemed…significant…to you, I assure you, the rest of the Ministry does not need to hear about it."

Now it was Hermione's turn to frown, was he implying what she thought he was?

"Are you saying that you think that _I_ am the one spreading these rumors?" she exclaimed, her body stilling dangerously.

His hawkish eyes blinking, Percy stared down at her, "I have already spoken to Ron about it, and he told me that he hadn't said a word to anyone; and that if anyone had been able to tell about your…encounters...with him it would be you. Are you saying that this is not true?" he asked importantly.

Hermione shot to her feet, "Why that lying, evil, son of a—"

"Miss Granger!" Percy exclaimed, both in surprise that she had been clearly about to swear and in warning that she was about to mock his own mother.

Hermione glared at him, "Do you honestly believe, even for one second, that I would spread rumors about myself like this?"

Percy shrugged, "I can't say," he evaded, "But I would insist that you stop now, before I am forced to take drastic actions. The work place is not a place for you to spread your tales Miss Granger; it is a place of responsibility, respect and propriety, none of which these rumors portray."

"So what you're saying," Hermione clarified, "Is that that git of a brother of yours told you that _I_ was spreading these rumors?"

Percy nodded, "Yes, isn't it true?" he asked, "I highly doubt Ron would lie to me about this."

Hermione looked incredulous, "He would if it was actually _him_ spreading the rumors and not _me_!" she threw her hands up in frustration.

"Are you saying my brother is a liar?" Percy asked carefully, his voice tense.

"Yes I'm saying your brother is a liar Percy! Don't be daft!" Hermione moved away from her chair and began pacing, "One, not only would I never spread rumors or tell stories like the ones that are going around, but two, I have not and never will sleep with Ronald Weasley!"

Percy narrowed his eyes, "But Ron told me that you two were engaged."

Hermione scoffed, "Right, like would ever marry _him_ after all of this! No, what happened was he proposed, I said I needed to think about it, he tried to remove my clothing without my permission, and I hexed him. I show up to work today and the git has spread rumors all over the place about something that _never happened_, and I tell him that I wouldn't marry him if he were the last surviving creature on the planet!" Rant finished Hermione turned to look at Percy, studying his face closely, "You don't believe me," she whispered in surprise.

"Ron is my brother—"

Hermione interrupted, "Which is exactly why you should know that he is quite capable of _lying_ to you!"

"Watch yourself Miss Granger," Percy warned, "You are getting dangerously close to insubordination; quite truthfully if you were anyone else I would have already fired you."

Hermione gaped at him, "_Fired me_?" she repeated disbelievingly, "You would fire me for telling the truth?"

Percy was now glaring at her, "You are asking me to believe you over my brother," he stated, "If I can't trust my brother who can I trust?"

"Funny you should say that," Hermione snapped, "I seem to recall a period when no one in your family could trust you!"

Percy's face turned an entertaining shade of red, "Enough!" he shouted, "You have gone too far Hermione," he stated lowly, causing Hermione to frown, he never used her first name, "I want your things packed and out of this office by the end of the day. End of discussion."

"What exactly are you saying?" Hermione asked him, confused by her own lack of reaction to what she knew he meant.

Percy turned and walked to the door, just and he opened it he turned his body slightly, "I'm saying you're fired Miss Granger. Good day."

Slightly stunned Hermione fell back into her chair and stared at the closed door in silence. Fired. Her. She had just been fired…why didn't she seem to make herself care? Hermione turned her attention to herself, trying to answer that very question. Perhaps it was the fact that she had long grown bored of the job, or maybe it was because that all along, from the very beginning, she had known that this wasn't the job she wanted to spend the rest of her life doing.

She wasn't completely surprised, therefore, to find that she was actually feeling quite relieved at having been fired. Now she could finally have the opportunity to go and do the things she had always wanted to do. Money wasn't really a problem as the Ministry had pumped her Gringotts vault full of guilt money for all the trouble they had put her through and thanks for saving the world. Not to mention the money her parents had left for her after their deaths in Australia.

A large smile spread across her face, it was good to finally be free, she decided, very good. Standing she flicked her wand and watched as her office tidied itself up a bit, and her personal belongings flew into her pocket, reminiscent of Draco earlier that morning.

Draco, Hermione sighed as she opened her office door and turned to leave for the last time. Draco Malfoy had been the source of mixed feelings for as long as Hermione had known him. To be perfectly honest when she had first met him on the Hogwarts Express she had thought him a perfectly wonderful boy. He had been pleasant to her, and she had been kind in return. Things had changed once they reached Hogwarts and he had discovered her blood status.

After that he had displayed nothing but contempt for her, which had admittedly hurt her feelings on more than one occasion. She had had a crush on him far longer than she had had a crush on Ron, making it more difficult to despise the boy as her two friends did so easily. When she had punched him in third year, she had done so out of an emotional break of sorts, her feelings had been beyond hurt that year by him, and she was pretty sure he knew it. It had also helped that she was fairly certain that no one else would dare to hit him like she had, and he most certainly needed it.

Draco had gone on to avoid her from that moment on; he no longer went out of his way to make fun of her, or to bug her in any way. He only spoke to her when absolutely necessary, and there were even times when they had been alone where he would let her escape without a word being spoke between them. Of course there were those few occurrences when Draco would have no choice but to be cruel and mean, like the teeth incident, as she had come to call it.

But there were times when she would find him watching her throughout the years that would make her pause and wonder, if only for a second, if maybe he felt the same sort of feelings for her as she did for him. During sixth year Hermione had noticed how worn, tired and absolutely terrified Draco was beginning to look. Naturally Harry, being the judgmental teenager that he had been, and apparently still was, had believed Draco incapable of doing anything for the right reasons, even if it was the wrong thing.

As a result of this awareness of Draco's health Hermione soon took to an even more intense Draco-watching regiment, she watched as he picked at his food at meal times, eating just enough to get by on; his eyes became sunken and worn from lack of sleep, increased study and who-knows-what-else. He often appeared to be more than a little paranoid, watching his so called friends closely and the 'Golden trio' closer, close enough in fact, that it was quite often that Hermione's gaze would catch his own and they would stare at each other for long intense periods of time.

One night she had found him in Myrtles bathroom, a place, ironically, that she went to be alone as no one else ever went there. He was sitting against a wall, his knees pulled to his chest, his elbows propped up on his knees, and his normally immaculate blond hair was being clenched tightly in his fists as his shoulders shuddered up and down. To this day she still doesn't know how she knew, but every instinct in her was screaming to go to him, to comfort him; that he wouldn't hurt her.

Her instincts had been right.

_Flashback_

_She approached him with caution, naturally, it hadn't been long since his duel with Harry after all, and he would still be on edge she suspected. She came to a stop just in front of him, hesitating only a moment before moving to sit beside him, unheeding of the dirt and grime on the floor that was likely to sully her muggle jeans. _

_Whether he was unaware of her presence or if he knew she was there and simply didn't care, Hermione didn't know. She simply remained silent, trying to think of the right words to say. Finally deciding that perhaps it wasn't words he needed she slowly lifted her hand and placed it on his far shoulder, resting her arm around his back._

_Draco's head jerked up and he looked wildly over at her, "What do you want mu—Granger?" he sneered, attempting fruitlessly to wipe away the tears that just kept coming._

_She looked at him with a gentle gaze and said nothing, just offering him a small shrug. Her hand moved in a small circle of its own accord, causing tingles to race up her arm and her heart to skip._

"_Answer me!" Draco snapped, though he made no move to stand and leave._

_Hermione's hand rubbed another small circle on his back, "You look like you could use someone to talk to," she murmured, not breaking their stare. _

_Draco's grey eyes searched hers closely for several minutes before he snorted, "What makes you think I would want to talk to you?" he asked, finally breaking their connection and looking towards the door, "How long exactly to do I have before Potty and Weasel come bursting through the door with hexes and curses flying my way?"_

_Hermione caught his point, she was friends with his enemy, naturally he wouldn't trust her intentions, "They think I'm in the library, so it is unlikely they will even be remotely concerned about my location until long after curfew," she told him, "And even if they did come in here flinging spells around, believe me when I say that I would hex them right back. You should have seen what I did to Harry when I found out what he did you last time," Hermione shook her head._

_Draco turned to look at her, "You expect me to believe that you took my side of that little duel between Potter and I?" he scoffed, "Come on, you're Hermione Granger, why would you care?"_

_They were silent for a long moment, Hermione's fingers tracing light patterns on his back. The silence was comfortable, and somehow Hermione knew that it was just what he needed, so she let it continue. Eventually Hermione noticed that Draco hadn't tried to remove her arm from his shoulders and smoothed another circle carefully, watching her hand vacantly, "Contrary to popular belief Draco," she was surprised and a little pleased to feel his body tremble when she said his name, "You're not a bad guy."_

_Draco's head whipped around and his eyes flashed, "What do you know!" he hissed, jerking away from her and launching to his feet, "For all you know I could be the world's worst person! I could have killed hundreds of people, and tortured thousands more! What makes you think that I'm _not_ a bad guy when I have this," Draco roughly dragged up his shirt sleeve to reveal a dark mark, "on my arm!"_

_Hermione's eyes stared at the dark mark for a second before she stood carefully and looked Draco in the eyes, "I know because despite everything you may have done, or will do," she paused and shook her head watching her hand slowly reach out to grab his marked arm as her other hand stroked carefully around the tattoo, "Your heart isn't in it. You do what you have to survive Draco," another tremor, and Hermione looked up at his face only to see his eyes watching her fingers carefully with some sort of longing, "Someone once said that eyes are the window into the soul," she murmured, bringing his eyes back to hers searchingly, "There is no evil in your eyes Draco," her fingers continued their soothing motions, "There is no evil in your soul."_

_Draco swallowed tightly, his eyes seeming to search her own for something but not knowing what. Eventually he became aware that he had been staring at her for longer than was considered normal and he blinked, his eyes moving to look at her soothing fingers. They were like magic, taking out the pain that engulfed him all the time. Slowly and gently he removed his arm from her grasp, meeting her eyes one last time with a soft gentle look before closing the doors on his emotions._

"_You shouldn't be so trusting," he hissed, back to being mean Draco, "I could curse you where you stand and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it."_

_Hermione shook her head, feeling sad that he had felt the need to close himself off once more, "You need to talk to someone Draco, everybody needs someone."_

_Draco stepped away from her, his body ridged, "Not me," he growled._

"_Then maybe you should write it down or something, you can't just keep everything inside of you all the time, you're going to explode!" Hermione tried urgently watching as he began to walk away._

_Draco shook his head, "I think it's too late Hermione," her name slipped through his façade._

_Hermione shook her head as he turned the corner and left the lavatory, "It's never too late," she murmured, unaware that Draco could still hear her._

_End Flashback_

Opening her apartment door Hermione sighed as she looked briefly around the messy apartment. She tried to keep it clean honestly she did, and she knew for a fact that Luna did too, but one of the many down sides to living with other people is that sometimes they seem incapable of cleaning up their messes; Ginny was one of these people. If she hadn't been one of Hermione's friends there would have been nothing stopping her from kicking the girl out. It honestly felt sometimes like the girl had been a little too spoiled growing up.

Without much hesitation she decided to forego cleaning up the mess and head to her room to change. As she shut the door to her comfortable sized bedroom Hermione tried to avoid looking at her bed where she knew a worn dark brown leather journal would be resting. It could wait for a few seconds while she changed.

Reaching into her closet she pulled out a dark green top and a pair of black cut off shorts. Putting her new change of clothes on, she teased her eagerness further by making sure her work clothes were hung up in the correct way and that the rest of her room was tidy. Finally convinced that there was nothing else for her to do, she moved slowly to the bed, sitting with her back propped up against the wall and her legs stretched out in front of her.

She stared at the journal in contemplation; it had appeared a few weeks after her confrontation with Draco in Myrtle's lavatory. She had been emptying her bag searching for a lost quill when she had seen it sitting against the side of her bag as if it had always been there. Cautiously she had opened it, surprised to find that there was a note already written on the inside. It told her that though she may be concerned about the book being dark magic, particularly because of what happened to Ginny in her second year, the book was actually a two way journal, and was a common thing among wizards.

The note then explained that she could write in it all she wished without the other journal knowing the words, but if she wanted to share her writings all she would have to do is draw a certain symbol, in her case a small star, at the beginning and end of the passage she wished to send. It would then appear in the other journal, and the owner of the other journal would be able to write back.

Hermione decided that it was sort of like the magical form of muggle email, and had cautiously decided to give it a try. Soon enough she found herself becoming almost addicted to talking to whoever it was that had the twin journal. He, she knew he was a he because he told her so, was very intelligent and loved learning just as much as she did. She honestly couldn't remember if and when she had ever had such an intelligent conversation with anyone in her life. She began to call him Nameless-One both as a joke and as a name to call him by. Nameless-One was in fact amused by the name and allowed her to continue to use it without any arguments.

When Nameless-One and she first began writing to each other their conversations would mostly consist of small discussions, eventually they evolved into sharing things about themselves with the other. He told her minor details about his life at first, generic things like how he was an only child, he loved quidditch and his favorite class was potions. He also told her that he gave the twin journal to her because he had a feeling that she was someone he could trust and talk to, and he needed someone to talk to. They wrote to each other throughout the rest of her sixth year, with a brief pause after Dumbledore's death, and throughout the summer before she left on the hunt for horcruxes.

Two days before Bill and Fleur's wedding he told her that he wasn't as good as he had led her to believe, causing her some stress and hesitation to continue their writing back and forth. He recognized her hesitation and told her that he had been forced to join the Death Eaters by his family, and that although he had absolutely no desire to follow Voldemort, he had no choice. Hermione had only hesitated for a couple of hours, during which she hadn't left her room at the Burrow.

Finally putting quill to parchment she had written him back that she knew another boy like that named Draco Malfoy, and she would trust him with her life. Of course by this point it would be idiocy to say that part of her wasn't hoping that the owner of the other journal was in fact Draco Malfoy himself, but she said nothing to him about her thoughts on this matter, deciding that whoever he was, he would tell her when he was ready.

After she had responded he had written that he was relieved, but that he felt he needed to warn her. Because of his position as a Death Eater he was privy to certain bits of information, it was because of this that he knew that Voldemort would be launching an attack on the partygoers on the night of Bill and Fleur's wedding.

Thanks to Nameless-One's warning she was able to prepare effectively and come up with a plan for what to do when the attack began. He kept contact with her throughout the hunt for Horcruxes, pages and pages were spent apologizing for the trouble and pain that she was going through.

He had ranted about Ron leaving, felt properly upset when Harry's wand was broken, seemed unimpressed when Ron came back, and absolutely horrified about the torture that had been inflicted on Hermione when Snatchers caught them. He had mourned with her about her friend's deaths, and celebrated when the war was finally over, declaring himself to finally be free.

In the three years after the war Hermione and Nameless-One had been in almost constant contact, writing back and forth in the never ending pages of the book. He had been there for her when she had written about Ron's explosion over the weekend, and it was because of his wise words of "if you have to think about it for so long, don't you think that's a sign you don't really want to do it?" that she had ultimately decided she wasn't ready to marry Ron.

Really as she thought about it now, it wasn't that she wasn't ready to get married—this thought surprised her—it was that she simply wasn't ready to marry _Ron_. There wasn't a part of her being that didn't know for a fact that if by some unfathomable stretch of imagination Draco Malfoy were to waltz into her room and propose to her right then she would agree in a heartbeat, tears in her eyes and a smile on her face; just like they do in the movies.

Slowly Hermione picked up the book and pressed her thumb to the lock, listening for the small click that came when her magical signature was recognized. Instead of the small click, however, there came a large bang as someone threw open the front door and slammed it shut behind them, shaking the walls.

"Hermione Jean Granger!" the unmistakable voice of Ginny Weasley shouted, followed by a softer click as the front door was opened and shut again.

Hermione could only assume that the second person coming through the door would be Luna, and part of her hoped that it was. At the very least Luna could make sure Hermione and Ginny didn't hex each other into oblivion, as it sounded Ginny was wanting to do.

Regretfully setting the journal back on the bedspread, Hermione forced herself to her feet to go and face what was likely to be another angry Weasley. Just as she was about to open the door it swung open, narrowly missing her face and a red faced Ginny Weasley stomped into her room, followed peacefully by a tranquil Luna.

"How dare you say such things about my brother!" Ginny started.

Hermione tilted her head, "Which brother exactly are we talking about?" she asked quickly, just to make sure that Percy hadn't also spread around false lies.

Ginny didn't seem to hear her, or if she did she simply didn't care, "Not only did you insult him and our family by turning down his gracious proposal, but you insult him by lying and spreading rumors about—"

"_Gracious_ proposal?" Hermione exclaimed, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Luna's partially vacant eyes watched the shouting match in a way that someone would watch a tennis game, her eyes flicking back and forth between the two challengers as their voices rose and their words became angry and mean.

"Look at you Hermione!" Ginny snapped, "No other wizard is going to want you! You were lucky to get Ron, you have no idea what he has gone through just so you could pretend to be pretty and have the life you want! He could have any witch alive and he knows it, yet for some unfathomable reason he stuck with you! You of all people! Then to top it all off, just when he was about to try and make _your_ happiness permanent you go and shove it back in his face by spreading rumors around and throwing a _very_ _expensive_ ring at him while you hexed him for absolutely no reason."

"No reason?" Hermione shrieked, "That lying git was spreading rumors about _me_! Not the other way around. Then he had the gall to try and blame Draco Malfoy for it, lying not just to my face, but to Harry's as well."

Ginny pointed to the front door, "Get out!" she yelled, "I will not allow the harlot woman who broke my brothers heart to live with me! Now pack your things and leave!"

Hermione felt her jaw drop as a very affronted look appeared on her face, "Excuse me?" she demanded, "I'm sorry, did you just tell _me_ to get out of _my_ apartment?" when Ginny simply nodded Hermione felt her posture stiffen, "Let me ask you this Ginerva Weasley," she ground out, intentionally using Ginny's full name to bug her, "Out of the three of us who is it that makes the largest payments on this apartment? And who is it that is constantly cleaning and repairing and cooking and _cleaning some more_ just to make sure this place is even remotely livable?" Hermione didn't let Ginny answer either question before continuing, "Oh that's right, _me_!" Hermione looked over at Luna who was still watching them, "And Luna!" she added, "Sorry," she murmured to Luna.

"No worries," Luna breathed with a shrug and a smile.

Ginny glowered at Hermione, "What are you saying?" she growled.

"I'm saying," Hermione returned, "Is that if anyone is going to get their things and leave it isn't going to be me and it isn't going to be Luna."

Ginny turned to Luna for help, "You can't let her talk to me like that! You heard what happened, she is the one who should be kicked out not me!"

Luna shrugged again, "Actually," she stated in her Luna voice, "I'm on Hermione's side," Hermione and Ginny both gaped at Luna. The Hermione and Ginny may have been friends but they argued a lot, yet not once did Luna pick a side or get involved. She normally stayed far away from the two when they were arguing.

"What?" Ginny hissed, "What do you mean you're on Hermione's side?"

Luna fiddled absently with a strand of her long blonde hair, "Neville told me what happened today at work. From what he says and from what it sounds like Hermione was saying, Ron was the one spreading those horrible rumors, and that Draco had to defend Hermione from the rumors by attacking Ron. Then when Hermione and Neville went to tell Harry about it, Harry unwisely believed Ron when he said that it had been Draco spreading the rumors."

Ginny's face was turning an unbecoming shade of purple; "Fine!" she exclaimed loudly, "I'm leaving! I wouldn't want to stay here anyway!" Ginny turned and stormed out of Hermione's room, slamming the door behind her.

There were several loud clatters, bangs, and other noises as Ginny magically packed her things, then five minutes later the front door once again rattled the walls as Ginny left. Hermione felt her heart clench in a painful way as she realized that she may have just lost the only family she had left. Surely if both Ginny and Percy took Ron's side in all of this, the entire Weasley clan, Harry included, would too.

A small sigh came from her right causing Hermione to look over at Luna's undisturbed face, "Well," Luna started, "What do you say I go change into some muggle clothes and we go into Muggle London for some pizza and a movie?"

Hermione frowned, "Aren't you upset that she just left?"

Luna shrugged, "A little, but if she's as good a friend as we thought she'll come back. And if she doesn't…well, at least the apartment will be cleaner."

Unable to help it, Hermione gave a laugh, "Yes it will," she agreed, "Pizza and a movie sound just like what I need right now."

"Good, would you mind if Neville came along?" Luna asked as she made her way out of Hermione's room, not waiting for an answer; though Hermione couldn't decide if this was because she already knew the answer or if she had just forgotten she needed one.

Longingly looking at the journal on her bed she sighed, it would have to wait.

**A/N:** So here is chapter one, I hope you liked it! If so leave a review! More reviews mean quicker updates!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, in case you were wondering…

**A/N: **First of all I would like to thank all of you who reviewed, you reminded me why I love to write so much! Also thank you to everyone else who thought this story was good enough to add their story alerts and favorites. Thank you so much. Here is the second chapter, it is much shorter, but I felt it ended nicely. The next chapter will be MUCH longer I promise!

**All I Want- Chapter 2**

Four weeks later found Hermione staring up at Hogwarts castle as she headed towards Headmistress McGonagall's office for a meeting. A letter had arrived earlier that week asking if she would come to discuss some things with Minerva. Admittedly she was nervous about what Minerva could possibly have to talk to her about outside the semi-annual Order meetings, but she wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing.

It had been a rough four weeks. The entire wizarding world now seemed aware that she had turned down Ron's proposal, and everyone seemed to think that it was a bad decision. Rita Skeeter had naturally gone all out, writing story after story proposing different reasons for the denial. It seems Ron's rumors had also somehow managed to spread beyond the Ministry, leaking its way into not just the typical tabloids, but into the actual news, spreading her embarrassment even further.

Mostly she was hoping that Minerva hadn't seen these papers and decided to intervene by 'talking' to her. Hermione waved to the ghost of Helen Ravenclaw as she began her ascent to the Headmistress' office.

About three days after Ginny had moved out a letter had come from a certain Weasley matriarch who shall go unnamed declaring her a harlot and other words that were not becoming of a woman or worth mentioning. This negative letter was then followed by letters from Ron, Ginny, and even Percy, who all said pretty much the same thing their mother did. Bill, Charlie and Arthur had also sent their own short letters, but out of all the letters she received the letter that hurt the most came from Harry who told her she was being ridiculous, and that Ron didn't deserve the things she was doing to him.

All of this would have been unbearable if it hadn't been for the continued friendship of Luna and Neville. Nearly a week after the scathing letters had come, yet another letter arrived from yet another Weasley, this one from a Weasley by the name of George. She had anxiously stared at the letter for several hours before finally gathering her courage and opening it. Inside she had been relieved and pleased to find a friendly and extremely apologetic letter from the Weasley twin. Over and over George apologized profusely for his family's rude behavior and begged for Hermione to remain his friend in that joking way was that was so like the Weasley twins.

Without any hesitation Hermione had sent a letter back to him telling him how grateful for his letter she had been, and informed him that yes, should would still like to be his friend. She had been the first to find out about his recent relationship with Angelina Johnson, and soon enough it became a regular thing for George, Angelina, and Neville to be found in Hermione and Luna's apartment having game nights and hanging out together.

Granted Hermione often felt like a fifth wheel considering that George and Angelina were together and Luna and Neville weren't far away from being a couple themselves. All in all though, she was grateful to still have some of her friends who trusted and believed her and not the lies that were spread all over the wizarding world.

Anxiously Hermione smoothed her hands over her dark green pencil dress, and pulled loosely at the ruffled silver v-neck fabric that rested around her chest area and shoulders to make sure it fell right. Smoothing some nonexistent errant hairs away from her face back into the long braid that fell just past her mid back, she raised her hand to knock on the headmistress' door before scurrying to double check and make sure her necklace was centered and presentable.

"Come in," a voice was heard from inside the room and Hermione cautiously pushed the door open peering through carefully before entering fully.

Hermione moved slowly to come and stand before Minerva's desk as she watched the woman finish scribbling some last minute words on a piece of parchment. Finished Minerva lifted her head and stared at Hermione for a second before breaking out into an amused grin, "Merlin Hermione," she chuckled, "you look like you're about to be served to a pack of grindylows for dinner! Relax, have a seat," Minerva gestured to the chair in front of her desk.

Her shoulders relaxed a bit but Hermione couldn't make herself relax completely, at least not until she knew why she was here.

"You may be wondering why I have asked you here," Minerva started, waiting for Hermione's nod which was a little too vigorous, making Minerva smile kindly at the young woman, "Well it has recently come to my attention that you were recently dismissed from your job at the Ministry."

Hermione felt her heart sink into her stomach, this _was_ an, I'm-concerned-about-your-well-being-please-tell-me-what's-wrong conversation, "Yes," she murmured lowering her head to watch her fingers fiddle with her bracelet.

Minerva watched her closely in silence for a moment before standing and moving to a seemingly unrelated topic, "Hermione, it has been such a long time, I was wondering how your animagus transformations have been going, have you gotten the hang of things yet?" she asked, her eyes blinking down at the now stunned younger witch.

Hermione nodded, "I've been able to remain in my animagus for several hours recently," she replied, feeling confused.

"Could you show me?" Minerva asked looking intrigued.

Eyes shifting around the room as if looking for some hidden cameras, Hermione lifted herself out of the chair, "I suppose," she said slowly, uncertain of where this was going. Slowly she closed her eyes and focused on her animagus form, feeling her body begin to bend and shrink until she felt the transformation had completed. Opening her eyes she looked up into the pleased expression of the Headmistress.

Minerva stooped down and picked Hermione up, carefully depositing her on the chair Hermione had previously left, "Wonderful!" she breathed happily, "Your black fox form is simply magnificent Hermione," she stated as she moved back around her desk to sit down in her chair, "That is why I have decided to offer you the position of Transfiguration professor."

Hermione's unnaturally ice blue eyes blinked up at Minerva for a second before Hermione found herself back in her human form, "Are you serious?" she exclaimed excitedly, "You really want me to teach here?"

Minerva smiled, "Of course, where else would I want you to teach?" she teased.

"But Transfiguration is your subject," Hermione commented, dimming a bit, "I couldn't take that from you."

Minerva shook her head a gave a soft sigh, "While Transfiguration is my favorite subject by far, and the one I have been teaching for a long time, the only reason I have kept teaching it these last few years while being the Headmistress is that I was waiting for you to finally figure out that you don't belong at the Ministry; and that you do, in fact, belong here at Hogwarts doing the one thing I have always known you to love: teaching."

Hermione's eyes widened, "You mean you were—" she trailed off.

"Saving the position for you," Minerva finished with a nod, "Basically. Besides the fact that there wouldn't be another person out there that I would deem qualified enough to teach the class besides you," she paused, "So will you do it? Will you take the job?"

Hermione stared at her, "Of course I'll take the job!" she exclaimed, falling back in her chair disbelievingly, "Are you sure?" she asked one more time just to be clear.

Minerva gave a laugh, "Yes Hermione, I'm sure. You are absolutely perfect for the job."

"Okay then," Hermione breathed, relaxing into the chair completely a she contemplated the changes that were about to come about.

Minerva watched her soak it all in silently for a moment before sighing, "Now if only Draco Malfoy would be as easy to convince."

Hermione's head shot up at hearing Draco's name, "What?" she asked suddenly.

"In his will Severus told me that during his time as a Death Eater he began teaching Draco everything he would need to know to become a potions master. Apparently all that is left for the boy to do is for him to take the Potions Mastery Final. If I could just convince him to do that, I would hire him in a heartbeat to take over for Horace as the Potions professor."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, "Does Draco not want to teach here?" she asked, her voice more eager than she figured it should sound.

Minerva shook her head, "According to Severus, Draco has always wanted to be a professor here. For the longest time it was his father that kept him from trying for any of the positions, now however, it is simply the Potions Final that keeps him from the one job Draco has always wanted the most."

"Have you tried convincing him before, then?" Hermione looked down at her hands quickly as she tried to argue with herself to remain silent before returning her gaze to the headmistress.

Minerva again shook her head, "I have tried to convince him to take the Final, but he did not know why I wished him to do so and at the time he was also working for the Ministry so he decided not to," she looked at the grandfather clock on one of the walls, "He is actually scheduled to be here any moment so I can explain to him and offer the Potions professor position."

A sudden knock rapped on the door causing Hermione's heart to pick up pace as she rose and turned around, "Come in," Minerva called, and the door opened, revealing Draco Malfoy in a dark green button up shirt that matched Hermione's dress with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows tucked into a nice pair of black slacks.

Draco lifted his head from where it had been watching is footsteps for a moment as he entered the room and his eyes immediately collided with Hermione's. Time seemed to stop and everything around the two of them disappeared as Hermione and Draco stared at one another. Draco's eyes showed very little emotion, as always, but years of watching him had trained Hermione to notice the things he tried to hide. He was nervous, probably as nervous as she had been when she first arrived; and his eyes held a soft longing as they stared into hers.

A throat cleared in the background and suddenly the spell was broken, Draco tore his gaze away to stare at the far wall indifferently, his opening and closing fist the only sign that the moment had gotten to him. Hermione's own posture shifted as she turned around and attempted to control her rapid breathing.

Lifting her eyes from where they had been watching the floor as she counted, Hermione was surprised to find herself looking into the amused expression on Minerva's face, "I believe that will be all Hermione," Minerva commented with a laugh in her voice, "I will send you the paperwork you need, and other information. Thank you."

Hermione nodded her head, inwardly cursing herself for getting so caught up in Draco's gaze, "Thank you Headmistress," she murmured back, turning around and heading towards the door. Her shoulder brushed briefly with Draco's as she moved past him and she couldn't help the almost sigh that escaped as she smelled his masculine aftershave. She said nothing to Draco as she exited the office, not remembering that she had been meaning to thank him for the last several weeks until she had left the Hogwarts grounds and apparated home.

Luna was sitting in the living area with her feet curled beneath her as she read the book on her lap. Slowly the blonde witch looked up as Hermione came in and plopped herself down on the comfortable couch, unheeding of her dress.

"How'd it go?" Luna asked, closing her book and setting it down on the coffee table.

Hermione's expression lit up for a moment as she remembered the reason behind the meeting, "McGonagall wants me to teach Transfiguration at Hogwarts!" she proclaimed gleefully.

Luna smiled and congratulated her, "I had a feeling that was what she was going to offer you," she told Hermione, "So you won't mind if I moved out?" she then asked, as if that flowed with their current topic of conversation.

"What?" Hermione exclaimed sitting up and turning to face Luna, "You want to move out?"

Luna nodded as if everything were clear, "Not until you move into the castle of course," she said, "But after you move I would be here by myself, and it seems rather pointless when I have to work in Hogsmeade to manage the bookstore every day."

"You manage a bookstore?" Hermione repeated, "What are you talking about?"

Luna blinked, "Flourish and Blotts of course," she said as if it obvious.

Hermione stared at her friend, "But what about your other job?" she wondered, "I thought you worked at the Ministry with Ginny."

"Oh I did," Luna nodded, "But then Ginny made it just so unbearable to work there that I had to find another job. Flourish and Blots was looking for a new manager and I got the position."

Hermione turned to face Luna more fully, "How long have you had this job, and why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh didn't I tell you?" Luna asked airily, "I felt certain I had, perhaps the Pematics made me confused though. It's been known to happen you know," she stated knowingly to Hermione with a nod of her head.

Slowly nodding her head in the way she had learned how to do as Luna's friend, Hermione contemplated the future, "So you want to move out?" she clarified.

Luna bobbed her head up and down, "Yes, Neville and I have been looking at a nice apartment near the school in town—"

Hermione held up her hands in interruption, "You and _Neville_?" she repeated, "Am I missing something?"

Luna looked confused, "What did you expect us to do after we were married, continue living apart?"

"Married?" Hermione repeated numbly, her eyes dropping to Luna's ring finger, relived to see that there was no ring on her finger, knowing that she hadn't missed something that obvious, "You two are getting _married_? When was this going to happen?"

Not understanding Luna shrugged, "Near the end of next month," she said noticing Hermione's expression and pausing, "Did I forget to tell you about that too?" she asked carefully.

Eyes wide Hermione nodded her head, "Yes," she stated firmly, "I didn't even know you and Neville had gotten together yet."

Luna looked surprised at this, "Really? We've been together since just after you stopped working at the Ministry, he proposed to me just the other day."

"I'm going to kill him," Hermione growled teasingly, not really angry, it was Luna after all.

"Oh please don't," Luna replied softly, "I really do want to marry him."

Hermione shook her head and fell back against the couch, "I'll let him escape this time then," she joked, "How did we end up talking about this anyway?" she question out loud, following their conversation back to Luna's comment about moving out, "Oh yeah," she remembered, "I guess it makes sense for you to move out then," she told Luna.

Luna nodded in agreement, "So how did the meeting go after she offered the job to you?" Luna asked.

"Well, at first I was in shock, but then she explained that she had actually been holding the job for me," Hermione shook her head, still surprised by this, "and then she started telling me about how she wished Draco would be as easy to convince."

Luna looked knowingly at Hermione, waiting patiently for the woman to continue.

Hermione rolled her eyes, she had told Luna about her crush on Draco that night they had gone out for pizza, making Luna the first friend Hermione had ever officially told about her crush on the seemingly forbidden man, "And then _he_ showed up."

Luna's eyes widened comically, "What did you do?" she asked curiously, her head tilting.

"Nothing," Hermione groaned, "I just stared at him and tried not to pass out when I walked by him and our shoulders touched," absently Hermione reached up and touched the shoulder that had brushed Draco's, "Oh who am I kidding Luna?" she moaned, "He wouldn't ever think of me that way. Why do I bother?"

"Because you love him," was her simple reply, "and believe it or not I am almost certain he loves you too."

Hermione gave a heavy sigh and shook her head, briefly touching her hand to her forehead, "As much as I like the reassurance, I highly doubt that is true," slowly Hermione rose to her feet intending to go change into something more comfortable, "Do you mind if we just drop the subject?" she asked rhetorically.

Luna nodded, "Sure, I'll just bring it up again tomorrow," she stated innocently as she moved to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

Narrowing her eyes suspiciously Hermione hesitated, she wouldn't really right?

Hermione let out a low growl as she stomped over to the door to open it for whoever was on the other side. Luna had kept her promise, she _had_ brought the topic of her and Draco up again…and again…and _again! _ Every day for the last week and a half she had brought it up, sometimes multiple times a day.

Tugging the door open in frustration she simply rolled her eyes and gestured for the three visitors to come it. Neville eyed her cautiously before moving past her, but George wasn't quite so inconspicuous about his curiosity, "What's got your knickers in a twist?" he joked ruffling her hair as he and Angelina entered the apartment for one of their game nights.

"Luna," was all she said before turning and leading them to the couches where Luna and Neville were already sitting.

"And how is our lovely loony Luna bothering you so?" George teased her, sitting on the floor in front of the arm chair that Angelina sat in.

Hermione shook her head, "It doesn't matter now, she seems to be done for the moment."

George raised his eyebrows in amusement, but let it go. Angelina rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and looked at Hermione with an apologetic look, "So how did your meeting at Hogwarts go the other day?" she asked, in a smooth attempt to change the subject.

Hermione's face lit up, "It was wonderful, McGonagall offered me the position of Transfiguration professor!" she exclaimed with a large grin.

The two couples began clapping, "That's great!" Angelina congratulated her.

"Yeah, it means you and I will be working together this fall," Neville laughed, "It will be nice to have someone else on the staff that I already know."

Luna's eyes lit up in that all too familiar way that made Hermione want to groan, "Speaking of people you would know at Hogwarts," she started in her soft voice, "Apparently Draco could be teaching there too, if he would only take the Potions Mastery Final."

Everyone looked at her, Hermione more suspiciously than the others, "How do you know this Luna?" Neville asked curiously.

"Oh, Hermione told me," was Luna's simple answer.

Now all eyes were on Hermione who was glaring at Luna, "Yes, I guess I did," she grumbled, "Draco had an appointment with McGonagall just after I did. She was worried that she wouldn't be able to convince him to take the test so he can teach Potions this fall."

"And what did you say to him?" Neville asked mischievously.

Hermione turned her glare on him, "Was I _supposed_ to say something?" she demanded, "No I wasn't. And why? Because it's none of my business!"

Luna and Neville let out simultaneous groans and gave each other similarly frustrated looks. George raised an eyebrow and lifted a hand, "Wait, wait, wait, I think I'm missing something here," he said looking between the three of them curiously.

"Me too," Angelina agreed.

Hermione sighed in frustration, "These two seem to have gotten it into their heads that Draco is in love with me," she stated, clearly not pleased with the conversation, "But I know for a fact that he doesn—" Hermione paused as she noticed George and Angelina's contemplative faces, "What are you looking like that about?" she demanded.

"I can see it," George stated, he shared a quick look with Angelina before continuing, "It would explain a lot of anomalies that Fred and I both noticed when we were at school with you lot."

Allowing her head to fall back onto the couch in resignation Hermione raised her hands in partial surrender, "What anomalies?" she questioned, playing along.

"Well being a Slytherin made Malfoy quite high on our pranking list you see," George started, "This being said, we had almost constant surveillance on him. He was very sneaky about it to be sure, but he seemed to like to stare at you, particularly at meal times. But as far as we could tell he was still a rotten git to you everywhere else. Then sometime around the end of your third year his staring became more obvious and suddenly he wasn't just watching you at meal times, but in the hallways and from what some of our spies have told us, in class as well. To be honest when we saw you enter the Great Hall for the Yule Ball neither Fred or I could stop ourselves from looking to see what his expression was; it was comical," he laughed, "well at least to us, he looked like his eyes would fall out of his head and his face was so surprised…" George trailed off remembering.

Hermione cleared her throat; both to try and make herself appear unaffected by his words and to encourage him subtly to go on.

"And in your fifth year, you know how he was part of the Toad's inquisitor squad?" everyone nodded, seeming to hang onto his every word, "There were several times where Fred and I would turn a corner on our way back to the common room after a DA meeting and we would find him hiding behind a wall watching you as you tried to do the same. His job was to catch any and all students who were a part of the DA, but he clearly saw you and pretended he didn't. There were other times when we would watch him deliberately lie to the Toad's face about certain things that pertained to you, or to cause distractions to make her forget about her intentions to go after you," George gave an apologetic sigh, "But then we had to leave," he said with fake sadness, "So we didn't get to see anything else."

Hermione tired to stop the blush that she knew was flooding her face and ducked her head, "That still doesn't mean he loves me," she mumbled half heartedly.

"This is what I have been dealing with Neville," Luna suddenly murmured sadly with a shake of her head, "She doesn't think he loves her even though I keep telling her he does."

George scoffed, "Why else would he be practically stalking you from the end of your third year on?" he laughed, "Hermione if that doesn't constitute love I don't know what does."

Hermione straightened her shoulders, "Stalking doesn't constitute love," she stated but was interrupted by George again.

"That's not what I meant Miss Granger and you know it," he commented lightly, "What I want to know," he turned to Luna and Neville, "is what happened at the end of your third year to make him change stalking tactics?"

Neville and Luna shared and confused expression; "Beats us," Neville answered for them.

"I hit him," Hermione mumbled under her breath.

All eyes swung back to Hermione, "You what?" Angelina asked with a large grin on her face, "You hit him?"

"He deserved it!" Hermione exclaimed defensively, "He was going on about killing Buckbeak and being a right git, so I hit him."

George had a look of awe on his face, "You are officially my hero," he breathed.

Neville looked just as impressed, "Well that would probably be why he couldn't take his eyes off you for the rest of the year," he stated, when Hermione looked at him in disbelief he tried to explain, "Up to that point no one had really stood up to Draco in any way that mattered, yeah Harry and Ron could spout insults and hexes like anyone else, but you actually _hit_ him. It probably impressed him. Besides the fact that with your blood status meaning what it did to him at the time, the fact that you were able to actually harm him probably threw everything he had ever been taught about pureblood supremacy up in the air, and he had nowhere else to look for an explanation or help in his changing world views."

"I _hit him_," Hermione repeated as if she were talking to a three year old, "As in I caused him _pain_, I'm fairly certain that it meant nothing else to him than another excuse to _hate_ me not to _love_ me."

Luna suddenly piped up, "Tell them about the incident in sixth year in Myrtle's lavatory."

Hermione glowered at Luna, "There's nothing to tell," she stated firmly.

"And then tell them how not long after you told him to find someone to talk to, a twin journal somehow mysteriously found its way into your bag with no identification of the owner of the other twin journal," Luna continued as if Hermione hadn't said anything.

Hermione jumped to her feet, feeling very much as if she were being interrogated, "I don't even know if it was him!" she exclaimed.

Neville shrugged, "Do you still have the journal?" he asked Hermione curiously, appearing to have some sort of solution to the question of whether or not it was him.

"Yes," Hermione sighed, deciding to just give in, "Would you like to see it?" she snootily asked.

Neville reached into one of the pockets of his cloak that he had rested on the side of the sofa, "Actually I was just going to give you a letter he recently sent to me so you can compare the two and see if the writing matches," Neville held out the piece of parchment to her.

Nervously she eyed the parchment for several long seconds, debating whether or not to take it. She was almost certain that the owner of the twin journal was Draco, but there was part of her that wasn't so sure. Ironically it was the fear that she might be correct and that it _was_ in fact Draco on the other end that kept her from taking the parchment. Slowly her hand reached out of its own accord and took the parchment into her trembling grasp.

Carefully she unfolded the letter and only had to have a short glimpse of the writing inside to know that Draco Malfoy was indeed Nameless-One. Her hands numbly dropped the parchment as one of her hands lifted to her mouth in surprise. Her eyes began to inexplicably water as her heartbeat quickened almost unbearably. Maybe it was true; maybe Draco did care about her like she cared about him. Hermione hesitated, temporarily unaware of the four pairs of eyes watching her, then again, maybe it was something he had done out of pity or to redeem himself somehow.

Slowly she lifted her head to look at the others, "It's him," she whispered, a single tear trailing down her cheek, though from happiness or some other darker emotion she didn't know, "Draco has the twin journal."

"What are you going to do about it?" Angelina asked softly, recognizing Hermione's mixed feelings.

Hermione shrugged, "I don't know," she said quietly, "I don't know what I can do about it."

George rolled his eyes, "By Godric, are you a Gryffindor or not? Just apparate to his house and confront him about it!"

"Then what?" Hermione demanded, "Stand around awkwardly as he tells me that yes, he did have the other journal, but that it was only out of self preservation that he used it or as a way to lessen his guilt or some other use entirely?"

Neville looked sympathetically at his friend, he could understand her reluctance to trust that someone could love her after everything Ron put her through. But every single particle of his being knew that if she ever gave Draco even the slightest inclination that she might even _remotely_ share his feelings Draco would snatch her up and never let her go. "Maybe you could thank him," he said softly.

George and Angelina looked confused, "For what?" they asked at the same time.

"Draco quit his job at the auror office because Harry refused to believe that the fight that he had gotten into with Ron was caused by Ron spreading rumors about Hermione and Draco trying to defend her," Neville answered.

"Git," George grumbled, making everyone look at him in surprise. His own eyes widened as his realized what they were all thinking, "I was talking about Ron," he explained quickly lifting his hands defensively, "I like Draco…I mean you like Draco so I guess I'm going to have to like him…right?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, but gave a little smile anyway, "So I thank him, confront him, then what? Declare my undying love for him?" she scoffed, going serious when she realized no one else was joking, they were all seriously nodding their heads, "Come on guys, you can't be serious."

"Actually I'm pretty sure we can be," George mocked, "We just choose not to be…most of the time. I mean, really Hermione, what's the worst that could happen?" he asked rhetorically, "He lies to your face and tells you he doesn't love you? At least then you can get on with your life and don't have to keep wondering about what could have been."

Everyone was nodding and Hermione suddenly realized that they weren't going to let this go. Her stomach suddenly felt anxious and a little sick, "Alright, alright," she moaned reluctantly, "I'll go to Malfoy Manor tomorrow to talk to him."

Neville slowly raised his hand, knowing her history with the Manor, "Would it help a little if I told you that he doesn't live at Malfoy Manor anymore?" he asked inquisitively.

Hermione's shoulders actually relaxed some as she realized that she wouldn't have to go into the house of horrors and torture, "Yes," she breathed, "It might help a little."

"Well then you'll be pleased to know that he has a house that he inherited from one of his nice relatives that is nowhere near Malfoy Manor," Neville then went on to explain a little about how to get to the location he was speaking of.

Finally finished Hermione nodded, making sure to remember his instructions and turned to the rest of the small group, "Are we done messing with Hermione's love life now?" she joked half serious, "Can we get down to the fun stuff?"

Everyone shared a laugh sending a few more jokes Hermione's way before settling down to discuss what they would like to do that night.

**A/N:** So, I was going to hold this story hostage until I received at least ten reviews, but then I realized that it wasn't fair to those people who _did _REVIEW. So here is another chapter, hope it was worth the wait! Please leave a review and tell me what you think, it's really easy I swear! ^_^ The next chapter will be up SO much sooner if I get a lot of reviews….


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **This is not mine…well the plot is…but not the characters…except the amazing house elves to be seen a little later on in the chapter, those are mine too…but you know…I don't have anything worth suing for, so please don't…

**A/N**: So can I just say WOW! I couldn't believe the response I received for that second chapter! Thank you soooo much, you have no idea how amazing that was! And because of the amazing reviews from the last chapter, I decided to update the story today instead of Friday (or later). So here it is, the last chapter of All I Want! Hope you enjoy!

**All I Want—Chapter 3**

Why did she agree to do this again? Hermione nearly let out a moan of frustration as she stood on the edge of Draco Malfoy's wards and stared up at the large grey stone building several hundred feet in front of her. '_Naturally his _new_ house would be almost the same size or bigger than his last_,' Hermione sighed good-humouredly.

The house could have been very imposing, much like Malfoy Manor, if it hadn't been so green and full of flowers. Two feet in front of her was a six foot wrought iron fence with intricate patterns connected to a large eight foot wide gate with an archway, also wrought iron, all covered in red and white roses that wove their way through the open spaces of the gate to twine themselves together as one of the most beautiful things Hermione had ever seen.

Carefully stepping closer to the gate, and making sure not to touch it, knowing his wards were set up in a dome like configuration that touched the ground at the gate, Hermione peered through the tall gate to stare at the large yard in front of her, "Woah," was all she could think to say as she stared at the lovely yard. So caught up in the sight before her, Hermione didn't notice where she was walking and ended up tripping over her feet, sending her flying towards the gate.

Her eyes closed as she braced for some nasty hex, or strong repelling charm, or perhaps even something life-threatening, but Hermione was surprised seconds later to find that she had simply fallen through Draco Malfoy's gate and the wards. Catching herself and standing up, smoothing her ruffled up dark green one shoulder tank top and flicking some hair out of her face to land back in place with the rest of her carefully done curls, Hermione turned to stare at the gate once more, this time from the inside. Draco must have set the wards to allow her in anytime, she thought studying the wards carefully. There were certainly several that would quickly send unwelcome visitors packing, but none of them had bothered her.

"Huh," Hermione murmured, slowly turning around to face the massive house once more, confused about why the wards had been set to let her in so easily. A gasp tore through her as the full extent of the front gardens was able to finally sink in; it was amazing, lovely, spectacular and so many other adjectives Hermione didn't know if she'd ever run out of positive descriptions of the yard.

She stood on a pathway about three feet wide that was made of different sized flat stone slabs that were placed neatly together with small tufts of grass sneaking through the cracks between the stones. On either side of the pathway were small round bushes evenly spaced apart. Further off on either side of the pathway were two ponds about six feet wide that spanned nearly the entire length from the gate to the large house. Inside these ponds resided several small fountains and what looked to be lily pads with several flowers floating around.

As Hermione proceeded down the long pathway to what she could now tell were two very large front doors, she noticed that there were several more rose bushes on the other sides of the ponds along with hundreds of other flowers Hermione couldn't remember the names of all at once. Tulips, Lilac bushes, peonies, flower spikes and other blossoms led the front area to smell simply wonderful, that combined with the perfect amount of shade provided by the large leafy trees and the soothing sound of trickling water and a couple of chirping birds, all made for an absolutely relaxing sense of peace, safety and an odd sense of home. Hermione could easily see herself being quite comfortable here, which surprised her, considering how nervous she currently was.

Moving around the small round pond that rested several feet from the large porch and front doors of the mansion, Hermione slowed her footsteps until there was absolutely no way for her to stall any longer. A shaking hand lifted to rap the door sharply, half hoping no one would hear.

No sooner had her hand touched the door just once when the large door creaked open and a small head appeared, followed by an equally small body, "Welcome Mistress Hermione!" the house elf squeaked, seeming overwhelmingly pleased, "We's have been waiting for you for a _long _ time!"

Hermione looked down at the house elf in surprise, "You have?" she asked, not knowing what else to say.

The elf nodded so vigorously that Hermione was sure it would fall over, "Master Draco is in the second library, he will be most delighted to see you, yes he will!" the elf reached up and eagerly grasped Hermione's hand to pull her inside.

The two were soon greeted by several other elves, "What can Oepy do for you today Mistress Hermione?" "Can Tipsy take your lovely travelling cloak?" "Here, let Mop take the cloak from Tipsy to hang so it won't get wrinkly!" "Would Mistress like some tea, specialty of Groegy?" "Is yous and Master Draco married? Yuba wishes to know, will there be children soon?"

Hermione looked down at all the elves busying themselves with taking care of her arrival, the elf holding her hand must have noticed her flustered look and snapped its fingers, bringing all of the other elves to an abrupt halt, "You are overwhelming Mistress Hermione!" the elf exclaimed, seeming exasperated. At once several faces drooped and saddened.

Quickly realizing where this sadness would lead Hermione held up her hands carefully, "No, no, no!" she proclaimed, "It's alright, I just…how did you all know who I am?"

The elves all shared a perplexed look, "Master Draco told us who you were, and gave us strict orders to welcome you as we would any member of the Masters family," the elf holding her hand told her, "Master Draco told Ziggy that if you ever came here it would only be because yous two are married," the elf, apparently called Ziggy, peered up at her carefully, "You are Mistress Hermione yes?" he asked her.

Slowly looking around at all the elves Hermione nodded her head, finally noticing one of the things that were so odd about the elves, they were all wearing comfortable looking clothes with a lovely cursive 'M' embroidered on their left side, right over their hearts, "Yes I am Hermione, but Draco and I aren't married," she told them carefully, surprising herself with how upset she sounded as she said these words.

There was complete silence for several moments as the elves comprehended this, then Ziggy tugged on her hand, "But you love Master Draco yes?" he asked her.

Hesitating for a moment, before deciding that they appeared to be very loyal elves, Hermione nodded once more, "Yes," she whispered, feeling slightly embarrassed to be confiding in a group of house elves.

"Good," the one Hermione vaguely recalled was named Oepy exclaimed in excitement, "Then that means you will become married soon!"

Hermione looked at the excitedly nodding heads and sighed, not wanting to burst their bubble, "Do any of you know where Draco is?" she asked them, deciding to best to just change the subject.

Everyone nodded their heads again but it was Ziggy who spoke, "Ziggy will show Mistress Hermione to the Second Library where Master Draco is now," Ziggy then turned and tugged Hermione off up the grand staircase barely giving Hermione time to turn and wave to the other elves as she left them behind.

Several doors were open along the way, but Ziggy was pulling Hermione too fast for her to stop and look at any of them, instead, Hermione only caught glimpses here and there of well decorated rooms. Several more stairs, long hallways, and various turns later—Hermione was certain she would never be able to find her way back out—Ziggy pulled to a stop just in front of an ornately decorated dark mahogany wood door.

Ziggy gave Hermione a wide smile before snapping his fingers, causing the large door to open. Hermione almost let out a squeal of surprised glee as she looked around the two floor library, covered wall to wall with books. A large cluttered desk rested in the middle of the spacious room with a large leather wingback chair resting behind it. There was a fireplace in the center of the left wall that two large comfy looking armchairs resided in front of with a long matching sofa in between them. The opposite wall held a large window with stained glass bordering the edges, with a nice comfortable looking window seat placed directly beneath the bottom of the window.

But what most caught Hermione's eye was the platinum blond head that resided with his back towards her as he bent over something on the desk, studying it intently, "What is it Ziggy?" Draco's deep voice asked kindly, making Hermione tremble for a moment, whether from momentary terror at her current location or from sheer need to hear his voice and see him she didn't know. Draco didn't turn around as he asked this, and Hermione couldn't help thinking that even from behind he was striking, Hermione groaned internally with something akin to want. He wore a dark blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows tucked into a pair of black slacks over black…socks? Hermione couldn't stop the small giggle from escaping.

Draco whirled around, his eyes wide in surprise and once again Hermione found herself locked in a staring contest with the man.

"Ziggy has brought Mistress Hermione to see Master Draco sir," Ziggy stated, letting go of Hermione's hand, seeming oblivious of the increasing awkward tension in the room, "Ziggy will send Groegy with some tea in a moment," Ziggy said, bowing shortly before apperating away.

Hermione felt the world disappear once more; it was simply her and Draco, staring wonderingly at one another. She didn't know how long they stood like that, staring at each other before Draco suddenly broke eye contact to look at the ground for a moment, clearing his throat awkwardly, "Hermione," he murmured in greeting, slowly lifting his head to look at her once more.

"Draco," Hermione responded in the same tone, a small smile pulling on her lips, "How are you?" she asked, forcing her brain to resume functioning.

Draco's eyes flicked towards the closed doors behind Hermione once before he answered, "I am good," he paused, "And you?" he asked, "I mean, how are you doing Hermione?" he asked her, his lips seeming to caress her name as it left his lips.

Hermione tried to keep her smile from spreading ridiculously, "I am doing great, thanks for asking," she responded, unsurprised when their conversation died for some time after that as Draco seemed to be having an internal conversation. His eyes nervously flitted about the room, as his hands fidgeted with things behind him on the desk.

Draco narrowed his eyes as he looked at her outfit, from the bottom of her silver converse sneakers to her faded, pre-torn, hip hugging, black Capri pants, to her one shoulder dark green top, to her perfectly curled hair. "If I didn't know any better," Draco stated clearly, seeming surprised to hear his own voice, "I would say that you must have been in Slytherin," he commented.

Hermione looked down at her outfit carefully in surprise, one hand reaching over to fiddle with the beaded bracelets on her other wrist, "What do you mean?" she asked him curiously.

Draco's hands moved up and down, gesturing to her, "Those, Hermione, are Slytherin colors. Not to mention the last time I saw you, you were wearing the same colors as well."

Her hands stopped fidgeting, "Really?" she inquired surprised, trying to remember.

Draco nodded.

"Oh," Hermione looked down at her outfit again then back up at him with a shrug, "Green just happens to be my favorite color," she stated, "and silver and black just go well with it."

"What would Potter and Weasley say if they knew?" Draco mock gasped, slipping easily into his old snarky façade.

Hermione rolled her eyes and shrugged her bare shoulder, "Who cares?" she nearly growled, "I haven't spoken to either of them for nearly two months."

Draco frowned, his eyes showing his curiosity but the rest of him was still hard and unyielding; Hermione didn't back down though, nor did she get defensive, she just waited. Draco seemed to realize that he wasn't going to get anything else out of her on the subject and hesitated a moment longer before snapping, "So what exactly are you doing here in my house Granger?" he demanded, reverting to her sir name.

Hermione took a few steps further into the library, causing Draco to stiffen but remain otherwise unmoving, leading Hermione to smile as she lifted her eyes to look around the library, "I just realized that I never thanked you," she started, her gaze falling to meet his after her first words.

Confusion spread clearly over Draco's face as he momentarily forgot to keep his emotions behind his mask, "Thanked me for what?" he frowned.

"For defending me," Hermione replied simply, "Ron was being a git and he should have known better."

Draco's eyes hardened as well this time, "Weasley doesn't seem to know how to use what little of his brain that seems to operate in even a moderately functioning way," Draco agreed, intending offence, growing uncomfortable with the lessening distance between them.

Instead he was quite surprised when Hermione actually laughed at his snarled comment, "I don't think he even uses a fraction of that little operational part of his brain," she snickered.

Draco narrowed his eyes, "What would your beloved Weasel think if he heard you say that?" he sneered.

Hermione shrugged, "I don't care what that rotten good-for-nothing thinks to be quite honest," Hermione commented primly with a roll of her eyes, "He lost the opportunity to have me care when he started spreading rumors about me to the entire ministry and made the one man I never thought would publicly defend me quit his job instead of being punished for defending me."

"And how do you know I was defending you and not just looking for some excuse to beat Weaselbee up?" Draco questioned arrogantly, his eyes watching as Hermione moved even closer to him.

Hermione smiled, clearly seeing that Draco was trying to cover up his confusion by being snarky, "Neville told me what happened. He told me that you were standing nearby with Neville when you two overheard Ron telling that other man all those rumors about me. He said that you gave Ron a warning to knock it off, but when he didn't you hit him and shoved him against the wall. That's when I showed up," Hermione came to a stop just in front of Draco, causing her to need to lift her head to look up at him, "I heard you telling Ron to back off, you also told him that I didn't deserve to be treated in such a way by him."

Draco studied Hermione closely, his eyes showing his mind was hard at work as he tried to decipher every possible intent behind Hermione's thanks. Hermione noticed this and slowly shook her head, "I'm not a Slytherin, Draco," she murmured, "there isn't some alternative motive behind everything I do," she smirked, "In fact, being a Gryffindor, I believe makes it nearly impossible to be cunning enough to manipulate you through offering you my gratitude."

Seeming to recognize her words as truth Draco seemed to relax a bit as he allowed himself to lean back on the desk behind him, "Neville could have been making it all up," Draco stated, eyebrows raised as he half heartedly attempted to convince Hermione he hadn't done what she thought he had.

"Which part?" Hermione asked cheekily, "The part where he told me you two have been growing closer as of late, maybe growing to be even _friends_? The part where he told me that if you hadn't defended me then he would have? The part where he defended you to Harry and Ron, and watched as both threw what was left of their friendship with him back in his face? Or maybe it was the part where he told me he was glad you quit, not because the Auror office was better off without you, but because _you_ were better off without the _Auror office_? Or maybe, the fact that you just called him _Neville_ instead of Longbottom, proves that you know that he didn't make any of it up," Hermione smirked, "Believe me, I'm pretty sure Neville wouldn't make up some elaborate tale in which the two of you are close friends just for the fun of it."

Draco frowned, not upset, but still confused, "So you came all this way, tried the wrath of my wards and my house elves, just to thank me for defending you from the one person on this planet I cannot stand?"

Hermione shrugged, her fingers moving to brush a curl out of her face, "The wrath of your wards and house elves is severely lacking if that is how they act when faced with a complete stranger," she remarked with a twinkle in her eye, "It was all quite welcoming to be honest, and if they're like that towards _me_, the Mudblood Granger then I can't imagine how they would react to someone evi—"

"Don't call yourself that!" Draco demanded, standing up from the desk. His silver eyes flashed as they glared at her, "Don't _ever_ call yourself that!"

Hermione had gone ridged at his sudden exclamation at first, unsure what she had done to provoke his anger, but as her mind processed his words she softened immediately, "They're just words Draco," she murmured, "They don't bother me."

"Well they bother me," Draco hissed, "So don't call yourself by that horrible name again," Draco paused and realized how harsh his words seemed to sound, "Please, Hermione," he softly pleaded.

Hermione decided then and there that she had never loved her name as much as she did in those few seconds that her name fell from his lips, "Alright," she replied once she figured her voice was strong enough, it still came out softer than she had intended, but what could you do? "But that leads me to the second thing I came here today to thank you for," she told him.

Draco's eyebrows furrowed, "There's more?" he dumbly questioned, clearly not believing that there could possibly be anything else for her to thank him for.

Ignoring his interruption Hermione just nodded and continued, "I also wanted to thank you for saving my life."

Blinking silver eyes met hazel in a mixture of surprise, confusion, terror and microscopic hope, "What do you mean?" Draco asked his voice barely above a whisper.

"Every day since you gave me that twin journal back in sixth year you have done nothing but save my life; whether it was figuratively by giving me something or some_one_ to hold on to, to fight for during the war, or whether it was literally, like each and every time you warned me about impending Death Eater attacks and plans," Hermione gave Draco a soft smile, "So thank you Draco, for saving my life."

Draco swallowed tightly, opened his mouth then shut it, then opened it again, "What are you talking about?"

Denial.

Well that was one way Hermione had thought this conversation might go, so she stepped forward as her eyes met his and stopped a mere four inches away from his chest, reached around him, and snagged a brown leather journal she had seen Draco reading earlier from off the desk directly behind him, "I'm talking about this Draco," she stated softly, holding the journal up for him to see.

A pale hand reached out to tug the book from her hands, "That's mine," Draco growled defensively.

"And I have its twin," Hermione replied, jumping out of his reach just seconds away from his hand connecting with the object, "And it's because of this book," Hermione waved the book around, "and the person who wrote in it," Hermione gestured to the blonde who was now following her with his eyes narrowed as she backed away, "that I am still alive today to tease you with said book," Hermione nearly shrieked as Draco suddenly launched himself at her, neither aware of the elf that popped in, saw their activities, grinned, and popped out, taking the tea with him.

Hermione kept running around the room, carefully avoiding getting caught and breaking things, "Face it Draco," she taunted after several minutes of this game she seemed to be enjoying more than he, "I practically owe you a life debt," she laughed as Draco moved closer once again.

"You owe me nothing!"Draco barked finally managing to snag Hermione around the waist, but Hermione turned and pulled the book into her chest, causing him to pull her back closer to his own chest, only slightly aware of how close they were, "Give it back!" he demanded using his free hand to try and reach for the book.

"Not until you admit it was you who was on the other side of my twin journal!" Hermione panted, _very_ much aware of how close they were.

Draco slowed his movements, suddenly becoming conscious of the fact that he was holding _Hermione Granger_ against his chest; _Hermione Granger_ the woman he'd been in love with since third year, was in his arms, her back was pressed against his chest, her body was…relaxing against his? Draco stilled completely, how did he get out of this one? What had she said, admit to owning the twin journal? Draco sighed, that would mean admitting to a lot of things, both good and bad, and he wasn't sure he could do that.

"Fine," he breathed into her ear, surprised to feel her body shiver in his arms, "It was me, are you happy now?" he murmured, finding that he suddenly didn't care one whit about the journal any more.

Hermione whirled around in his arms with a wide smile on her face, "Incandescently," she proclaimed, pressing his journal against his chest.

Numbly Draco reached one of his hands up to grab the journal, reluctantly letting go of Hermione's waist. His fingers absently brushed against hers as he held the journal to his chest as she pulled her own hands away. Tension seemed to build between them until Draco seemed to return to himself by clearing his throat and backing away, his eyes dropping from her form as he headed towards his desk.

"Was there anything else?" he asked gruffly, not looking at her as he tried to appear unaffected.

Hermione looked around the library for something, anything to talk about that would keep her from having to leave him so soon. Her eyes alighted on a potions journal resting on a small table in the corner and a spark lit in her mind, "Are you going to take the potions final?" she asked him suddenly, causing him to turn to look at her out of sheer surprise.

"What?" he dumbly asked.

Hermione's fingers began to tangle and weave themselves together, "McGonagall told me about how Professor Snape taught you everything you would need to know to be a potions master, and how the only thing keeping you from being a full potions master, and thereby perfectly capable of taking over the position of Potions professor, is the Potions Mastery Final. So are you going to take the potions final?"

Draco's gaze hardened, "Why would McGonagall tell you all of that?" he demanded to know, "What gives her the right?"

Hermione stood her ground and gazed levelly back at him even though he had his mask firmly in place, "She offered me the position of Transfiguration professor that day we met in her office, and I accepted right away, ready and eager to take the job. Minerva then asked me why you couldn't be that eager to take the potions professorship, to which I responded by saying that I didn't know you were a potions master; she told me you weren't but all that was standing in your way of being one was the potions final."

He seemed to be glaring at her, Hermione sighed, this was not at all how she thought the conversation would go, she should have kept quiet about the whole Potions Master thing.

"No," he growled, "I am _not_ going to take the potions final."

Hermione blinked, that's it? No reasons or explanations; no excuses? Just, 'no I'm not going to take the final thank you, now leave!'? Obviously that wasn't going to sit well with Hermione, so naturally she let her curiosity get the better of her, "Why not?" she asked bluntly.

Draco obviously hadn't been expecting her to question him, though for the life of her she couldn't fathom why he hadn't. Draco seemed to contemplate his answer to her question for a moment before shaking his head and hardening his eyes as he looked at her, "Because sometimes people just don't get whatever they want!" he finally exploded.

Again Hermione found herself blinking in confusion, "What do you mean?" she questioned out loud.

"I mean, that just because I want something doesn't mean I will get it," Draco ground out, becoming perplexed by her unafraid curiosity.

Hermione frowned, "So you _do_ want to be a Potions Master?"

"Yes!" Draco shouted, "But just because I want it, I know I won't get it! I –" Draco trailed off and seemed to slump in defeat, once again resting against the desk with his arms folded defensively across his chest.

Timidly Hermione stepped closer to Draco, stopping several feet away from him, "What do you mean you know you won't get it?" she inquired, truly not understanding what he was saying, or trying to say, "You're Draco Malfoy, you always get what you want," Hermione was honestly confounded by his defeatist attitude.

"Not since third year," Draco murmured, slowly lifting his head to stare at her meaningfully, "Not since you hit me in third year have I achieved, received, or gained anything I really _wanted_," Draco emphasized the last word in a gruff voice, unfolding his arms as he shoved himself off of the desk and walked around to the other side to study the books on the shelf behind the desk as if he had never seen them before.

Hermione watched him in silence, trying to comprehend what he was saying, and more importantly, what he wasn't. Finally she gave a small sigh, deciding that the only person who could translate Draco Malfoy for her would be Draco himself, "Like what?" she asked him softly, "What else have you wanted that you didn't get?"

Draco remained silent just long enough for Hermione to begin to wonder if he had even heard her before his deep voice floated over to her ears in a quiet voice, "At first I just wanted a smile, a smile that gave me the knowledge that you saw me as a close friend, or at the very least someone you didn't hate. I wanted to hate you, but I couldn't, no matter how hard I tried. I wanted to understand you, the things that made you happy, the things that made you sad, or angry, or eager to learn. I wanted to know your favorite color, your favorite book, your favorite _everything_."

Draco went quiet and Hermione watched stunned with her heart pounding in her chest as his head dropped to his chest, his gaze retreating from the thick tomes of knowledge before him to the comforting soft dark grey carpet at his feet, "I wanted to be able to walk up to you and take your hand, to hold it for everyone to see that you were with _me_. I wanted to know if you felt the same need to be close to me as I felt for you. I wanted to prove to you that I was worthy, that I was good enough. I wanted to stop being on the dark side of the war to show you just how much you meant to me. I wanted to be able to pull you into a hug so many times I couldn't even count them if I wanted to. I wanted to beat Weasley each and every time he brought even the smallest frown to your perfect lips."

Slowly Draco straightened his shoulders and turned to look Hermione square in the eye, "I wanted you," he told her gently, swallowing harshly, desperately trying not to look away from her expressionless face, "I _want_ you," he amended, his eyes blinking rapidly for a second as he fought again not to look away from her, "I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how you should be loved. I want to be able to kiss you every second of every minute of every day for the rest of our lives. And more than anything," Draco stepped around the desk to stand three feet in front of her, "I want to be able to know that you feel the same way, with the same passion and need that I do."

Neither moved for a long time, seconds, minutes, hours, neither could say. Hermione's eyes were beginning to grow a little watery as she comprehended the words Draco had just spoken and the undertone of need and hopeless longing that hid just beyond his words. Suddenly those moments Hermione thought she saw a desperate longing in Draco's eyes over the years began to make sense.

Draco suddenly turned away from her and fled behind the desk again, almost as if placing the object between them would make what he thought was her inevitable rejection easier. Hermione's eyes widened as she watched him walk away, suddenly realizing just how long she had been standing there without saying a word.

A small tremulous smile tugged at the corners of Hermione's lips as she spoke up softly, "Who said you couldn't have all of that?" she asked gently, her eyes resting lovingly on his back.

Slowly Draco turned around to frown at her, "Well for one thing you're with Weasley and you aren't the kind to cheat, and I'm not the kind to share."

"Was," Hermione corrected, interrupting his second comment, at his confused stare she elaborated, "I _was _with Weasley…Ron. I'm not anymore."

Draco was surprised when the words, "Why not?" escaped his lips without his permission.

Hermione snorted lightly, "Do you even have to ask?" she scoffed, "The rumors were a result of a horrible date we had that weekend, he had asked me to marry him," Hermione felt a small amount of selfish internal glee as she noticed Draco's frown deepen as his eyes glared at the wall behind her shoulder, "I told him that I had to think about it, he pretended to be okay with that, but when we arrived at my apartment he practically accosted me, tearing at my clothes and just generally being a jerk. I hexed him to kingdom come and told him to get out of my apartment. All of this you know from the journal," Hermione lightly tapped the cover of said object as she began speaking again, "Monday rolled around and I had made my decision to turn him down, but for some unfathomable reason I was going to stay with him, figuring I just wasn't ready for marriage yet."

Draco actually growled when he heard her words, making Hermione feel some elation at his protective feelings.

"But when I saw you roughing him up a bit, and heard the lies he was spouting to Harry about how Neville was daft and you should be in Azkaban I decided there wasn't any way I would be able to stay with the git. I turned him down, hexed both him and Harry, and then went back to my own office, where my department manager, who just happened to be another Weasley, yelled at me for spreading rumors about myself. I told him to sod off, and he fired me," Draco seemed confused that Hermione didn't appear more upset about this than she did, so she explained, "I was beginning to hate my job anyway, he just helped me do something that I should have done a while ago."

Hermione took a deep breath, trying to assess whether her words were having affect on Draco other than his protectiveness, "I went home where _Ginny_ promptly began yelling at me and demanding that I move out that instant. I refused, considering the fact that I was the one who was paying for most of the flat anyway, and Ginny decided to leave instead. Now I have been alienated from the entire Weasley clan with the exception of George and his girlfriend who feel that the Weasley's are being ridiculous. So in short, I am no longer with Ronald Weasley."

Draco turned to look directly at her with questions in his eyes, seeming to ponder which question to ask first. He finally appeared to settle on one when the words escaped, "Why were you ever with that git anyway?" almost immediately after the words were out Draco's eyes widened and he looked as if he wished he could retract them.

Hermione gave a wistful smile and shook her head, "Because I couldn't have you," she responded, "I was only with Ron because I was absolutely certain that there was no way you would ever feel the same way about me as I felt about you," she gave a humorless laugh, "Especially not after I hit you in third year. I chose Ron because he was just about as opposite of you as one could get, though ironically it seems that you and Ron seem to have switched personalities from our second year. Now Ron's the one calling me names and _you're_ the one who's defending me."

"You were only with Weasley because…" Draco trailed off, once again moving around the desk to stand in front of Hermione, his eyes locked with hers once more and the world fell away as it always did whenever their eyes met.

"Because I thought I couldn't have you," Hermione whispered, very aware of how close Draco was becoming, her head tilting further back as Draco finally came to a stop just inches away from her.

Draco bent his head to bring their faces closer together, "So you…"Draco breathed, unaware of his hands moving up to slide gently into Hermione's soft curls.

"So I…" Hermione murmured back, trying her best not to just close the few millimeters between their lips.

"You want…" Draco stared closely into her twinkling eyes.

Hermione's eyelids fluttered shut, "Kiss me all ready Draco will you?" she demanded breathlessly, waiting eagerly for that moment when his lips finally connected with hers.

If she thought the world stopped before when they were simply staring at one another, the entire universe must have frozen as Draco's lips finally pressed gently against her own willing and waiting lips. She gasped as she felt the magic zinging through every vein in her body, making her feel more complete than she had ever felt in her life. No one had ever made her feel this content, this loved, this—all thought was cut off as Draco tilted her head with his hands to kiss her more deeply; his tongue gently pressing against her lips, a low moan reverberating through his chest as Hermione opened her mouth to tangle her tongue with his.

Weakly Hermione twined her arms around Draco's neck, just in time for her legs to collapse from beneath her. Draco smiled against her lips kissing them once more before slowly moving to kiss a pathway down her neck until he buried his face in her shoulder, his hands sliding down her back to pull her fully against him.

"I've wanted to do that for years," Draco murmured minutes later, his low husky voice causing small shivers to fly throughout Hermione's body.

Hermione pulled back and let Draco stand up straight once more before rising on her tip toes to press her lips firmly to his in another passionate kiss, "I've wanted you to do that for years," she whispered back, her lips barely separated from his.

Draco kissed her once, twice, three times more before moving his hands to his shoulders where they found Hermione's and twined their fingers together. He smiled down at her with so much love that Hermione found her breath momentarily stolen away. Gently he tugged her hands down from his shoulders to pull her towards the chairs and sofa. Hermione followed him closely, absently wondering if her eyes showed as many emotions as his did.

Draco lowered himself down onto the sofa, pulling Hermione so that she sat closely next to his side with his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Hermione turned her body slightly to lean her head against his chest beneath his chin and wrapped her arm around his waist. A smile graced her features when she felt him sigh in contentment and kiss the top of her head.

The two sat comfortably for several minutes in silence, contemplating what this would mean for them. Hermione felt Draco shift slightly and knew instinctively that he was about to speak. Sure enough seconds later Draco's deep voice caused vibrations to echo through his chest, "How long?" two words, yet they held so much.

Hermione gave a sigh and went to move to sit up, but found Draco's arm was holding her in place causing her to giggle, "I just want to see you while I talk to you," she laughed, waiting until Draco gave a mockingly heavy sigh and lifted his arm. Hermione smiled and sat up, pausing for just a second before standing, causing him to frown for just a second before she turned and sat sideways on his lap, resting her back against the arm of the sofa and spreading her long legs out on the couch. She leaned her shoulder against his chest and smiled at him.

"You're right," Draco sighed with a smirk, "This is much better," he wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her tightly for a moment before letting go, "Well?" he pressed, reminding her of his previous question.

"Oh," Hermione smiled and ducked her head, piquing Draco's interest, "I think it was somewhere around the first few minutes we met."

Draco's eyes widened comically, "Really?" he exclaimed, "that was fast!"

Hermione gave a small laugh, "Well you weren't really horrid to me until _after_ we were both sorted, so I only met the well trained, polite side of Draco Malfoy."

Draco's grin dimmed significantly at her words, and he seemed to hesitate a moment before speaking his mind, "I meant what I said to you during those first three years we were at school together," he told her regretfully, closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to see her hurt, "I really did believe you were less than I was and it just made me so mad that you didn't seem to know it; always beating me in everything but quidditch and flying."

Hermione gave a soft smile as she lifted her hand to cup Draco's cheek gently, smoothing her thumb in small circles feeling a few of his whiskers that were just beginning to appear, "I know," she murmured, pleased when Draco unconsciously leant his head into her hand, "But even then part of me wondered if it was simply the little boy syndrome," she said the words seriously as if it were life threatening.

Draco opened his eyes but didn't move away, "Little boy syndrome?" he repeated curiously.

Hermione nodded, "It's a muggle thing that little boys have. It occurs when they like a girl, but don't know what to do about it. Little girls have it too," she added, "It demonstrates itself in hurtful acts such as hair pulling and name calling."

"What are other symptoms?" Draco asked with a small smile, recognizing the disease as fictional.

Hermione pretended to think, "Well, often the little boy or girl will feel bad for how they treated the object of their affections afterward. But their concern only manifests itself in even more hurtful acts," Hermione paused, "I know you meant what you said every time you insulted me up through most of third year, but after I hit you," she trailed off, "Well…"

Draco rolled his eyes, "I can't explain it," he began seeming exasperated with himself, "But you hitting me was like the final blow to my pureblood supremacist defenses. For years you had been beating me when my beliefs said that it should be me who was beating you. Your magic was stronger and more controlled; you knew more about anything and everything than anyone I had ever met, perhaps even more than some of them combined. You somehow managed to continually get yourself into and then back out of trouble without much damage, and you never let the fact that you _were_ superior to everyone else get to your head. Then when you hit me, well, I already knew you were better with magic and knowledge but then you proved to me you were stronger and better at _physical_ fighting as well, it was the only thing I had left. It left me puzzled and intrigued."

Draco shrugged and gave a small sheepish grin, "I even asked my father how certain he was that purebloods really were better than muggleborns, when he told me firmly that it was a simple fact of life, I asked how it was then that you seemed to beat each and every pureblood at Hogwarts, if you were only a muggleborn. He had no answer, but told me that I was never to speak of you so highly again," Draco smirked and pressed a kiss to Hermione's jaw, surprising her, "My father always had answers," he told her, "so when even he didn't know why you were better at everything I began to wonder if maybe everything I had been taught, everything my father and mother had been taught and their parents before them and so on, maybe it was all wrong."

"Did you tell your father about me hitting you?" Hermione asked curiously, gently brushing her fingers over the side of his nose where her fist had collided with his skin.

Draco scoffed, "Why would I do that?" he mocked her, "He would have had my hide for allowing a muggleborn, and a girl to boot, to hit me. No, I didn't tell him, he was better off not knowing," Draco stared off at the heatless fire in the fireplace for a second before looking back at the brunette, "I have to admit I practically stalked you for the rest of our years at Hogwarts," he admitted with a small smile, "I was covert about it, but I couldn't stop watching you, wondering what your favorite color was, what your favorite book was, why you liked to read so much…all those things I said I wanted to know earlier, I tried to discover the answers through studying you, but alas, I wasn't able to figure it out, and I couldn't exactly just ask you, so I watched instead."

"Green, like I told you earlier, is my current favorite color; though while we were back at Hogwarts the idea of Harry and Ron finding out that I loved such a Slytherin color made my favorite color a royal purple. My favorite book is _Hogwarts: a History_. And I love to read so much because sometimes the places and things in the books are just so much better than my current reality. In books the heroine always gets her Prince Charming, and they always live happily ever after…"

Draco looked confused, "Prince what?" he asked curiously.

"Prince Charming," Hermione repeated, "He is a Prince from a muggle fairy tale that basically is the epitome of what every girl wants in a man," she nudged him, "You for example, are _my_ Prince Charming," Draco looked down right pleased with the idea before his face began to darken once again. Hermione sighed, "What now?" she asked him softly, her hazel eyes peering into his own silver eyes searchingly.

"I was just thinking about all the things I did while you and I weren't at Hogwarts," he murmured, his fingers tracing absent patterns on her waist, "I wasn't a good person then Hermione," he moaned, "I was horrible, I did anything I was told to do…I had no choice."

Hermione gave a comforting smile, "Exactly, you had no choice Draco," she leaned forward and kissed him deeply, "Do you remember back in our sixth year when I found you in Myrtle's lavatory?" she asked him softly, her fingers sifting gently through his hair.

Draco nodded, "How could I forget, that night changed my life," he told her, his head swaying with the strokes of her fingers, "I don't know what I would have done during the rest of the war if you hadn't found me that night and said what you did."

"I meant it too," Hermione added, "You weren't evil then, you aren't evil now, and you most certainly weren't evil during the war."

His head was already shaking, "How could you possibly know that?" he demanded to know, "you weren't there!"

Hermione's hand trembled a little as she moved it from his hair to smooth over her forearm revealing the unbecoming scars that formed the word Mudblood, "I was there when Harry, Ron and I were brought to Malfoy Manor," she murmured softly, "You didn't sell Harry out like you would have if you were evil. You didn't really try to duel Harry when we were escaping. And not once, during any part of the war did I see evil in your eyes Draco; not _once_," Hermione waited, but Draco said nothing, "I think you more than made up for whatever you did wrong during the war by helping me and warning me through the journal. You weren't evil Draco, you _aren't_ evil."

"I got Dumbledore killed," Draco snapped, attempting to push Hermione off his lap to stand, fortunately Hermione had expected this and had maneuvered herself to hold him down. Once he stopped struggling Hermione moved one of her legs so that she was now straddling the distraught blonde. This was obviously something that had been bothering him for some time.

"No," Hermione stated firmly, "_Dumbledore_ got Dumbledore killed," she told him, seeing his eyes widen in confusion and pain Hermione tried her best to explain, "Dumbledore knew all along that Voldemort had given you the mission to kill him. He also knew that though you would try, your heart wasn't really in it, you didn't really want to kill him. It wasn't in your eyes," Hermione hesitated a moment before speaking again, "What do you know of Horcruxes?" she asked him.

He shrugged, thrown off guard by the change of subject, "They are pieces of a person's soul that allows them to live for a long time, it is very dark magic;" he told her, "Why do you ask?"

"Voldemort had made six of them, it was how he managed to come back after Harry killed him the first time," Hermione explained, "That's what Harry, Ron and I were hunting during that time everyone thought we were in hiding. We were searching for the Horcruxes and a way to destroy them. Harry had destroyed one, Tom Riddle's diary, in our second year in the Chamber of Secrets. Dumbledore found and managed to destroy a second Horcrux that was in the form of Marvolo's ring. But in the process of destroying the ring the magic began to kill Dumbledore."

Now Hermione paused to take a breath, "Do you remember the speech Professor Snape gave to us in our first potions class?" she asked Draco.

He nodded, "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even…put a stopper…in death…" Draco quoted dramatically in an imitation of Snape's voice.

Hermione nodded with a small smile, "Well Professor Snape put a stopper on Dumbledore's death. He was already dying Draco," she informed Draco emphatically, "Anyway, because Dumbledore was already dying and Professor Snape knew about it, Dumbledore asked the professor to kill him when the time came. He knew your soul wouldn't be able to stand the torment that came when you killed someone, and Snape needed to secure his position in Voldemort's ranks in order for Dumbledore's plan to finally be fulfilled."

Draco shook his head, "Snape _worshiped_ the Dark Lord," he argued, "He wouldn't do something that would ultimately lead to his demise."

"He would if he actually _hated_ Voldemort," Hermione responded, "Voldemort made the mistake of killing Lily Evans Potter, Harry's mother, and the woman Snape had been in love with for years. It was the final straw on the camels back so to speak, and Snape turned to Dumbledore and became a spy on the Dark side."

His eyes distant, Draco shook his head again, "He would have told me," he muttered to himself, "Didn't he trust me?" he asked her rhetorically, "I could have helped him, I knew occlumency, I could have—"

"Did Snape ever speak about blood purity with you Draco?" Hermione interrupted, when Draco paused then shook his head, so Hermione continued, "Did he ever give _you_ personally any indication that he worshiped Voldemort?" she questioned, "He taught you potions, why? There wasn't time enough for it to take precedence over everything Voldemort must have demanded he do. Snape cared about you, and he protected you in the only way he knew would result with you and your family still alive by the end of the war. He never nurtured your Pureblood ideals, he never tried to persuade you to believe as the rest of the Death Eaters did, he simply let you be who you needed to be, while being the support you didn't know you needed."

Draco's eyes showed he wasn't sure what to think, "So I didn't get Dumbledore killed?" he clarified disbelieving.

Hermione shook her head and pressed her forehead to Draco's, "No, Dumbledore was dying long before you were given your mission; you couldn't have done anything different."

"I almost listened to him you know," Draco murmured, relief flowing through him as he closed his eyes and simply absorbed her closeness, "Dumbledore I mean, he was offering me a way out, another choice, and I almost took it, but then my aunt showed up and I just—"

Hermione shushed him, "I know, Harry was there the entire time and saw everything. Even he saw how you were wavering about which side to take. But all of this has nothing to do with us now, it's all in the past, I know you weren't evil and you know that I know it, so I think we should just let it go…you should just let it go," Hermione kissed him softly for several long moments, pleased that each kiss felt just like their first, like she had finally found the one place in the world she absolutely belonged, "I might be dead today if it hadn't been for you being where you were, feeling like you felt, and writing to me about it all."

This gave Draco pause; he hadn't thought of it that way, "Really?" he asked her, part of him feeling liberated by knowing this.

With a nod and another kiss Hermione smiled, "Really," she told him, "Now I think the real question is…are you going to take that potions final now that you see that you really do get everything you want?"

Draco laughed, "I suppose so," he agreed, "McGonagall needs to take some lessons on how to be Slytherin-like from you it seems," he told her affectionately, brushing some curls from her face.

Hermione looked put out, "What do you mean?" she demanded to know.

"Before when McGonagall offered the job to me, I got nothing in exchange but a bunch of students who would be constantly blowing up their potions. You on the other hand have given me something in exchange that I value very much," Draco kissed her.

Raising her eyebrows Hermione smiled mischievously, "Oh yeah? And what would that be?"

"You," Draco replied simply, one hand tugging her closer so he could kiss her ear and the hollow beneath it, and her neck and…Hermione gasped, that felt fantastic. She had never allowed Ron such liberties, nor had she ever really sat on his lap, she realized, it had always just felt wrong to even think about it. Hermione contemplated this, a lot of what she had with Ron had felt wrong, like something was missing, it was part of the reason she had turned down his proposal.

Hermione's eyes widened as she found her mind wandering to images of her and Draco years from now, little curly blonde haired children with hazel eyes wandering around with a dog playing hide and seek in this very house. It was something she had never been able to see with Ron, part of her had known that she would never be able to have that with the red headed man, but now, with Draco, it all seemed so simple, so perfect so… right.

"Oh is that all?" Hermione breathed seconds after his statement about having her, "I thought you would have valued something more, like my never ending love for you, or the fact that I was willing to promise to love you and only you for the rest of eternity, or, maybe even the fact that I was willing, perhaps even eager to wear something that Neville told me you had hidden in your bedside drawer."

Draco jerked back from his assault on her neck, "What?" he exclaimed, his mind processing her words, "You love me?" he repeated.

Hermione laughed quietly, and traced a finger from his chin across his jaw and down his neck to slide her hand into his hair at the back of his head, "And I am willing to marry you if you ask nicely."

"Really?" Draco murmured dubiously, his eyes searching hers for something, "You'd be willing to marry me? I thought you said you weren't ready when you turned down Weasley."

Her head tilted as she shrugged, "That_ was_ almost two months ago," she joked, "And I wasn't ready to marry Ron, I was never going to be ready to marry Ron. But I am however, ready to marry _you_. Because unlike Ron, I _love_ you."

The small glitter of hope in Draco's eyes increased until it began to show on his face, a rare occurrence, "I love you too," he whispered pressing a few quick chaste kisses to her lips, before giving her the most passionate and loving kiss she had ever experienced. When he was done kissing her for a moment he reached his hand off to the side to grab a small dark blue almost black velvet box with a silver M etched into the top that had appeared out of nowhere. Opening it he revealed a lovely ring. There was one large clear diamond set in the middle of two gorgeous emeralds with smaller diamonds circling the rest of the white gold band.

Draco slowly extended the ring to her, but was surprised and a little hurt and horrified when Hermione shook her head and stood up, "Not that easy Charming," she teased, using her new nick name for him, "First you have to get down on one knee and ask me, I'll say yes, then you stand up, place the ring on my finger and kiss me senseless."

Draco paused, understanding, he never really _asked_ her to marry him. Shaking his head he gave her a small smile and slid off the couch onto one knee, "Hermione Jean Granger," he stared, surprised to hear her give a small giggle, and cover her mouth with her hand, "Will you do me the honor of giving me one last thing that I want more than anything and become my bride?" he asked her.

Hermione felt something hot and wet slide down her cheek, one hand reached up to wipe at it, finding it to be an unexpected tear, "Yes," she breathed, nodding her head vigorously, "Yes."

Draco shot up and gently took her hand in his, sliding the ring onto that significant finger with a wide smile, "I love you," he murmured, just before pressing his lips tightly to her own, picking her up and spinning her around. They kissed for who knows how long until Draco finally pulled away, "I recognize that even though I've been in love with you for years, I barely know you," he told her softly, his lips moving against hers, "But I promise to spend every day of the rest of my existence getting to know everything about you that a person can know."

"I know you will Draco," Hermione smiled again as Draco shivered at her use of his name; "I love you."

He pulled back a little and she looked up at him. Their eyes met, and the rest of the world simply faded away.

FIN

**A/N**: …so maybe the marriage thing was a little fast, but it seemed to work for me. What did you think? Were the loose ends wrapped up enough, or is there still something missing? Many of you seemed to think that there was some much needed revenge on the Weasleys and Harry that I didn't necessarily write. But if people would like to see more, let me know…it may take some time but I am willing to try and appease your thirst for revenge…lol! Let me know what you thought and leave a review! Thank you so much for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, I could come up with something funny about this necessary statement, but at the moment I don't feel like it. So if you actually care, the only thing from this story that is mine is the plot and the fairly extreme OOC ness of the characters.

**A/N:** So…I know I promised revenge if you asked for it, the problem was that I had no idea what to do for that revenge. But then several reviewers made different comments that sparked what has become at least another two chapters…maybe more. LOL . I can't tell you how shocked I was (and still am) at the reaction to this story! It's been amazing! Anyway, now on to what you really wanted to read…you asked for it, and here it is: the beginning of revenge on the Weasleys!

**All I Want Chapter 4**

"What's going on here?"

Hermione turned her watery eyes from the harsh glares being aimed her way from the group of red headed Weasleys to look at the only friendly gaze in the store, "It's nothing George," she murmured, firmly refusing to let her angry tears to fall.

George studied his friend's face closely for a moment before turning to look at the people glaring at her, "Mum?" he questioned, a frown on his face.

Molly gave her son a tight smile, "We noticed this little harlot woman wandering around your store and were simply informing her that she wasn't allowed to be here," she told George in a pleased tone of voice.

"What?" George looked startled, "What do you mean she's not allowed to be here?" he asked, looking around at the various members of his family who all seemed to be present, with the exception of Charlie.

Ginny's eyes narrowed, "Well we assumed that you wouldn't want the bi—"

"Ginerva Weasley!" Molly scolded, interrupting Ginny's vulgar words and nodding towards where Bill was holding Victoire.

"Horrible woman," Ginny amended with a roll of her eyes, "In your store after everything she's done to this family."

George looked around at his family, distantly wondering how he had managed to be the only sane person in his family, and his eyes rested briefly on Harry's anxious and slightly apologetic look before flicking back to his little sister, "Everything she's done to this family?" he repeated with a raised eyebrow as he unconsciously moved into a more protective position in front of Hermione.

Molly looked astounded at his words, "Yes, everything she's done to this family," she snapped, her eyes glaring at the bit of Hermione she could see from behind George's shoulder, "First she has the gall to turn down my Ronnie's gracious proposal, then she proceeds to tell everyone at their workspace that they…they…_slept_ together," Molly lowered her voice in horror at the statement before proceeding at her normal tone of voice, "then she goes on to put poor Percy in a difficult position by mocking him until he had no choice but to fire her, and _then_ she had the _audacity_ to kick Ginny out of her own apartment!"

Feeling Hermione stiffen behind him, George turned his head just enough to see Hermione's eyes take on a determined glint as she squared her shoulders, "How dare you!" she hissed, stepping out from behind George to glare hatefully at Molly, "First of all the apartment was _mine_ not your _slob of a daughter's_!" Molly, Ginny, Ron and Percy let out a gasp of outrage while Bill and Fleur fought to hide their amusement , "therefore I had _every right_ to kick her out, especially after she tried to kick _me_ out! Of my own apartment!" she added incredulously, "Second your 'poor Percy' was the one insulting me by insisting that I would _ever_," she emphasized the word by shaking her head vigorously, "sleep with Ronald Weasley, let _alone_ spread rumors about the nonexistent encounter!"

Hermione paused for a quick breath, far from done. Her eyes rested on the red face of her former boyfriend, "And why does everyone keep insisting that Ronald's so called _proposal_ was so _gracious_?" she opened her mouth to continue when Molly let out a scoffing laugh, drawing her attention.

"Why?" she sniffed rudely in a voice that George had never heard from her before, "Look at you girl! What man in his right mind would ever want to have _thing_ like you on his arm? My Ronnie was good enough to put up with you despite all of your obvious flaws! You could have had money, fame, and a man who would only make your image a little less dastardly. Now that you've condemned yourself to eternal spinsterhood, what man would ever want you?"

George frowned at his mother, appalled that she could ever say something like that to anyone, let alone his friend, "Mum—" he started but was cut off by Hermione raising her left hand importantly, "Apparently _someone_ wants me!" Hermione hissed with a fake smirk on her face as she showed off the sparkling diamond and emeralds on her ring finger.

"What is that?" Ron demanded stepping forward and joining the conversation, having been previously content to simply let his mother and sister defend him.

Hermione scoffed, "I thought even you, with your inability to use your brain, would know what an _engagement ring_ was," she mocked.

"You're engaged?" Ron sounded incredulous, "But you said you weren't ready," he growled, his eyes lifting from the expensive looking ring to look at Hermione's face with a hard glare in his eyes.

Giving a him a fake smile, Hermione nodded, "And I was never going to be ready as long as it was you proposing," she told him in a voice meant to be used on a little child.

"What?" Ron frowned, his eyes narrowing angrily.

"I would have never married you Ronnie," she used his nickname mockingly, "not even if you were the _last man on earth!_" she emphasized the last four words with sharp jabs to his shoulder with a pointed finger.

Ron grabbed her wrist tightly, "Who?" he hissed, his voice dropping dangerously as his eyes glared spitefully into hers.

"Ron…"Harry spoke up finally, taking a step forward, his eyes the only thing on his face that was showing his horrified surprise at the situation.

"No Harry!" Ron exclaimed, "I deserve to know what poor excuse for a human would ever want trash like this!" Ron flung Hermione's hand away from him.

George made to move towards his little brother, intent on teaching him a lesson, but Hermione stopped him with a hand on his chest, "It's alright," she murmured softly to him, "He's just jealous," she said a little louder, turning to Ron with a small smirk, noticing him bluster about as he tried to refute her words, "The man who I deemed _worthy_ and _honorable_ enough for me to marry is Draco," she calmly told the Weasley family and Harry.

There was silence for several seconds as her words processed, "Draco," Ron finally repeated dully, "as in Draco _Malfoy_?" Hermione just stared calmly back at him, "_Draco Malfoy?!"_ he shouted, "You wouldn't marry _me_ but you would marry that ferret?"

Hermione nodded, "I've been in love with him for some time now," she explained, "So when he asked I said yes."

"Some time?" Ron muttered to himself, "How long is 'some time'?" he demanded to know loudly enough so his family could hear him.

Raising a hand Hermione pretended to think, "Oh I don't know, probably sometime near the first time I met him, before you, on the Hogwarts Express our first year."

"First year?" Ron's voice cracked as he exclaimed the words, "You've been in love with that git since _first year_?"

Hermione turned to look at George, "Is there an echo in here?" she asked rhetorically, causing George to smirk and shrug, "That's right Ronald, I know it's a hard concept for your little brain to grasp, but yes, I've been _in love_ with Draco Malfoy since first year."

Ron looked stunned as his face slowly changed from red to an unbecoming shade of purple, "Did you ever love me?"he calmly asked her, his voice tense.

Contemplating him silently Hermione gave a small shrug, "You made it awfully hard on the best of days," she told him, "but despite that I think I did, just a little."

"And yet you're still marrying _him_!" Ron exclaimed finally exploding, "after everything he's done to you!"

Going still, Hermione stared at Ron, "As opposed to what? What you did? I'm sorry Ronald, but Draco never left me, he never cheated on me, he never lied to me and most certainly never tried to _rape me_!"

Gasps were heard from everyone in the Weasley family and Harry, but it was Molly who spoke first, "How dare you!" she hissed, tugging her wand free from her sleeve and aiming it at Hermione, who responded milliseconds later by pulling her own wand out.

"Okay that's enough," George stepped in, finally deciding this had all gone on long enough, "I think it's best that you leave now," he said softly but firmly.

Molly smirked wickedly at Hermione, her wand still aimed at the younger witch, "You heard him," she sniped, gesturing with her wand towards the door, "Get out."

Hermione frowned and despite her stomach twisting with betrayal she shoved her wand back to its hiding place and moved to head towards the door but was stopped by a hand reaching out and stopping her, "No, not her mum," George stated, "I was talking about you."

Everyone turned to stare at George in surprise, "What?" Ginny broke the silence.

"You all know the rules, dueling isn't allowed in the store, and Mum pulled her wand out first," George looked over at Hermione's grateful gaze, "and I won't allow my own family to come in here insulting and attempting to kick _my friends_ out of _my_ store. So please leave."

Molly stepped forward with a placating face aimed towards her son, "But George—" she started but George shook his head and cut her off.

"Unless you are going to apologize to Hermione I don't want to hear it," he said softly, disappointment clear in his expression.

Dropping her hands to her sides, Molly's eyes flitted back and forth between her son and Hermione, "Well then," she murmured quietly, "I see," slowly she turned and began ushering her family out the door. A few feet from the door she pause and turned around, "Fred would be disappointed in you," she told George sadly, despite the clear anger and embarrassment in her eyes, "You know that don't you?"

A spark of anger flashed in George's eyes in return before he shook his head, "No mum," he responded, "He would be disappointed in _you_," he then turned away, unwilling to watch the hurt flit over his mother's face, but it needed to be said. There wasn't a part of him that didn't know for a fact that Fred would be siding with George and Hermione in this conflict.

"George," Hermione murmured seconds after the bell above the door jangled, signaling his family's departure.

George turned and looked down at Hermione's face, seeing the hurt, thankfulness, and overall sadness in her eyes, "Come on," he replied, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and guiding her towards the stairs that led to his and Angelina's apartment upstairs, "Lexi!" he shouted as they reached the first step, waiting until he saw the brunette with multicolored streaks in her hair come flying around the corner, "watch the store will you?"

"Certainly Mr. Weasley!" Lexi replied with a mock salute and a smile. She was the first worker George had hired after he bought the store in Hogsmeade he and Fred had always wanted, and so far she had proven herself worthy of the trust George now placed in her to run the store without him present.

George smiled back and turned back around to lead Hermione up the stairs. As they entered the apartment George looked around quickly to see if his fiancé was anywhere to be seen, "Ange?" he called, his call was soon answered with a clatter and quick succession of swear words from behind one of the four closed doors down the hall, a muffled, "coming!" eventually reached their ears, causing Hermione to smile a little before a frown set back into place.

"Do you want anything?" he asked the bookworm, moving towards the kitchen. Hermione shrugged so he grabbed her a glass of water and returned to her side only to find her sitting in one of his armchairs with her knees pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped tightly around them. He couldn't see her face because it was buried in her knees, but he could guess she was crying from the way her shoulders were shaking.

Angelina appeared at his side moments later, "What happened?" she asked worriedly.

"My family," George sighed grimly with a shake of his head, "Look, you go see what you can do, I'm going to go floo Draco."

Curious Angelina looked at him, "Do you really think that's a good idea?" she asked, knowing that Draco was incredibly protective of Hermione, so should he find out that the Weasleys had something to do with her crying he wasn't likely to think strait before he headed off to do something he shouldn't.

George gave her a small smile, "I'd want to know if you were crying and needed me," he told her with a small nudge.

Angelina smiled and shook her head, "Alright," she laughed quietly before heading over to squeeze in beside Hermione on the large armchair.

He watched them for a minute before heading to the fireplace in the study, where he grabbed a handful of floo powder and stepped into the flames, "Draco's quarters!" he called and quickly squeezed his eyes shut as he was twisted around, only barely managing to land on his feet as he stepped out of the fireplace in Draco's quarters at Hogwarts. Dusting himself off and muttering to himself about his sloppy landing, he looked around the room quickly before raising his voice, "Draco?"

He heard a muffled response coming from another room and moved towards it. Opening the door he found a ruffled looking Draco standing in the middle of a room surrounded by potions ingredients, "Hey Drake!" he stated with a barely smothered smile, "How's it going?"

Draco gave a small sigh, quickly recognizing who his visitor was, "How many times must I ask you not to call me Drake?" he asked, turning around with a vial in his hand full of…something.

George eyed the substance closely for a second before shrugging, "Eh, you know…until sometime after we're both dead."

"I have to put up with you until I'm dead?" Draco exclaimed mockingly horrified, though he was actually pleased with the idea; after all he'd never really had much in the way of friends, though now thanks to Hermione he seemed to be surrounded by them. He smiled, Hermione, Merlin he loved that woman. He looked at George then changed the subject as he realized, "Isn't Hermione supposed to be with you today?" he asked.

George pretended to be very interested in the contents of the room, and Draco let him peruse the items around them for several moments until he realized that George was avoiding looking at him, "George?" he prodded, "Did you lose her?" he joked with a small laugh that faded as George didn't laugh with him, "George!" he exclaimed.

"Well I didn't _lose _her," George finally replied, "But there was an incident," George was cut off as Draco suddenly went into motion, clearing a path from where he stood to the door.

"Where is she? What happened? Is she hurt?" Draco asked rapid fire questions as he moved passed George.

George watched him go with and amused smirk waiting until Draco finally realized he wasn't right behind him and turned around expectantly. Amusement faded into a grim expression that few had ever seen on the twin's face, "Physically she isn't hurt, but there was a run in with my so called family just a few minutes ago. Words were said, but I managed to force them all to leave the store before spells were cast."

Draco's grey eyes glinted dangerously, "Weasley was there?" he hissed, then at George's nod he crinkled his nose in disgust, "Well then it's lucky for all of them that no spells were cast."

"How's that?" George asked as he grabbed a handful of floo powder, thinking that Draco was referring to the inevitable revenge that he would have exacted on the Weasleys, he was surprised therefore to see a small smirk cross his friends face.

"Hermione would have hexed them all into oblivion," Draco also grabbed a handful of floo powder, but before he stepped into the fire he turned to George with a question in his eyes, "Why were they all at your store anyway?"

George shrugged, "Someone must have finally told someone to tell my mum that I was engaged," he guessed, "But whatever the reason, they left Hermione in tears. I don't know if she would want you to know about what happened, but I figured I would want to know if it were Ange."

Draco gave George a small smile, "Thank you," he murmured, his eyes showing his gratefulness, "I'd rather her be mad at me for knowing why she was upset, than finding out that she had been upset and I could have helped but no one told me."

"Hey, anytime," George snorted, "It's just my life on the line," but Draco was already gone. With a self depreciating sigh George resisted the urge to booby trap Draco's quarters and stepped into the fire to follow his friend home.

DHDHDHDHDHDH

Draco carefully stepped out of the fireplace, leaving enough space for George to come through and paused, listening. Soon enough he heard the familiar sobs of his fiancé coming from around the corner, his heart squeezing at the painful sound Draco headed towards the large overstuffed chair where he could see two heads barely appearing over the back of the chair, "Princess?" he murmured softly as he came around the chair to stand in front of her, his voice softening into a sound that only Hermione had ever heard him use.

Hermione's head jerked up and Draco was met with bloodshot eyes and tear streaks all across her face, "Charming?" she whispered, unaware of Angelina standing up with a nod to Draco before she left them to go find her own fiancé.

Draco moved forward and carefully lifted Hermione up long enough to seat himself beneath her, "I'm here," he replied, pressing a soft kiss to the side of her head, surprised how quickly Hermione turned in his arms to bury her face in his shoulder. Despite the fact that they had been together for almost three months now he was still constantly surprised by her seemingly instinctive actions towards him. Being with her was the most natural thing he had ever done, and for the life of him he couldn't fathom why he hadn't just shown a few seconds of courage back when they were all at Hogwarts to tell her he loved her so that he could have spent all those years with her.

Settling further in the chair, absently hoping that George and Angelina didn't mind that he wasn't going to go anywhere for a while, Draco hugged Hermione's still crying form tighter to his chest. He still couldn't understand how someone so good and perfect like his Hermione could ever want someone as jaded and damaged as him. Hermione had made it her mission the last few months to prove to him that he was already a better man than he had ever thought he could be, and Merlin help him he was beginning to believe her; beginning to believe that for some unfathomable reason maybe he did deserve her.

Granted the last few months hadn't been without their challenges, there had been several arguments about unimportant things that Draco didn't care to remember, all he knew was that at the end of each argument they were somehow brought closer together and their relationship was made stronger. Hermione had introduced him to her small group of friends, who, Draco was surprised to discover, all welcomed him with open arms. Angelina had actually been the most reserved, something about being quidditch rivals, but even she had seemed to warm up to him by the end of the night, though Draco couldn't figure out why; the best he could figure was that they were all happy if Hermione was happy.

Neville had asked if the rumors about him being a potential professor at Hogwarts were true, to which Draco had responded with a confirmation that McGonagall had assured him the job would be his as soon as he passed his upcoming Potions final. Sure enough, he passed the final with flying colors, surprising himself with how accomplished and worthwhile he felt after doing so. The letter came days later congratulating him and extending the Potion's professorship to him for what would be the last time.

School came around and Draco found himself eagerly anticipating teaching, not to mention that his friends, the word still sounded odd in his vocabulary, were all nearby. Neville and Hermione were both teaching of course, but so also was Angelina, it turned out, who had come to teach for that year only as flying instructor while Madame Hooch took a year's sabbatical to help take care of her dying mother. Luna was managing Flourish & Blotts and George had surprised everyone by not just announcing, but opening his brand new store right in the middle of Hogsmeade. It wasn't uncommon for the six friends to gather there often, sometimes all together or other times, such as today, just a few of them.

Hermione had headed into Hogsmeade today to see George and Angelina and to pick up a few things from Flourish & Blotts intending to be back before dinner was served at the school, but that plan seemed to have fallen through. Gently Draco lifted one hand to smooth over her soft curls as he murmured soft words, practically unaware of what he was saying, just wishing he could do or say something, anything, that would make Hermione stop crying.

Just as he was thinking it Hermione's shaking shoulders slowly came to a stop, and she lifted her tear stained face, "He hates me," she moaned softly a few seconds later.

Draco's eyes searched hers in confusion, why would she be upset that the Weasel hated her? "Weasley?" he asked, trying to hide the strain in his voice as he did so, only to be so relieved when she shook her head vigorously in reply that he couldn't keep the emotions from showing on his face.

"No," she shook her head, "Harry," Hermione whispered sadly, her eyes downcast.

Oh.

"If Potter is dumb enough to believe Weasley over you then he isn't worth being upset over," he told her quietly, his eyes following his fingers as they reached up to brush some curls away from her face, "But I'm not sure Potter is actually capable of hating someone as good as you," he gave her a small smile that made her lips twitch, "Is that what all this is about?"

Hermione took a deep breath and shrugged, "I just feel like I've lost my family all over again, and it hurts even more to think that Harry would rather believe them over me. I just…"Hermione turned her head away from his close inspection and swallowed harshly before returning her gaze to his, "I miss him."

Draco paused before nodding his head slowly, "I know," he whispered, pulling her closer to press a brief but loving kiss to her lips before tightening his grip as he pulled her into another hug, "I know."

"Hey Charming?" Hermione spoke quietly a few seconds later, waiting until he connected his eyes to hers, "Can we go home?"

A small smile spread across his face as he moved to stand up, "Sure," he responded, "Let's go home," Draco wrapped his arm around her shoulders and turned to lead her towards the fireplace when George suddenly appeared from behind them.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked in a tone much louder than Draco or Hermione had been expecting and with a large smile on his face.

His smile, it turned out, was contagious and Draco soon looked over at Hermione to find her grinning back at the redhead, "Yes we're going back to Hogwarts," Hermione answered, "I'm a bit worn out."

George sighed dramatically, "Well if you must," he stated with a shake of his head before moving to pull her into his arms, "Thanks for coming to see me today anyway, even if my family did ruin it," he pulled back with his hands still on her shoulders and studied her for a minute before reaching up and tousling her hair making it big and poufy, "There, that's the Hermione I know," he said with a pleased jerk of his head.

Hermione stood stunned for a few seconds until she finally comprehended that George was making fun of what her hair had been like back at Hogwarts, "George!" she exclaimed, frantically trying to smooth her hair back down, but already knowing it was a losing battle. With a sigh and a condescending shake of her head, Hermione turned and grabbed a handful of floo powder, before turning and giving George a smile, "It was good to see you too," she agreed before stepping into the fireplace, "Draco's quarters!" she called before disappearing.

Draco made to follow her but was stopped by George's hand on his arm, "Today while they were all in the store, Harry seemed really confused about what was going on, I don't think he knows the full story, and I'm not sure he ever will if one of us doesn't tell him. I have a feeling that if he did his relationship with my family would be practically nonexistent."

Without turning his gaze away from the small fire Draco nodded, "I was just thinking that I would do anything to make Hermione happy, and if getting Potter to talk to her would make her happy, then that is what I am going to do."

George watched the younger man, so much had happened in his life, and much of it because of Harry Potter, yet he was still willing to place himself in an uncomfortable position to make Hermione happy, "You're a good man Drake," he stated with a nod of his head, "Hermione couldn't find anyone better."

Draco grabbed a handful of the floo powder, giving George a wry look, "Thanks George," he replied with partial sarcasm, "That means a lot."

"As well it should," Angelina replied pompously with a grin, coming up behind George to wrap her arm around his waist as she stood beside him, "Come back sometime Draco will you?" she commented.

Draco gave a nod and a small smile, "Sometime soon I hope," and with those words he followed Hermione home to Hogwarts.

"You mind if I just go lay on your bed for a while?" Hermione's tired voice asked once he stepped through the floo and landed back in his quarters.

Draco nodded, "Sure, I have to go to Diagon Alley to restock my potion closet, but I should be back before too late, it will be nice and quiet here," he added, knowing that her students had been known to knock on her door at any time, rarely giving her a moment's peace. She loved her students, and they loved her, but sometimes a little break was necessary to keep one's sanity and Draco knew that she often found that the only place safe from her students was in the dungeons where his office and quarters were located.

Hermione gave him a brilliant smile, one more like the smiles he was used to, "Thank you," she murmured gratefully, knowing he would understand that she wasn't talking about his leaving but the opportunity to hide away for a little longer. Then, to show how grateful she was she moved forward quickly and pressed her lips to Draco's in a long, slow, loving kiss before gently pulling back with a shy twinkle in her eyes as she backed away from him and moved towards his bedroom.

Merlin, that woman could try even a saint's patience with kisses like that. Draco understood that she wanted to wait until after they were married to truly sleep together, well, they had already _slept_ together, but for the other things that couples did Hermione wanted to wait; and Draco was more than happy to oblige her every whim, even if it was difficult. He gave Hermione one last smile before she turned and closed his bedroom door behind her and heaved a sigh.

There would be no time like the present to track down Potter and try to talk some sense into him, Draco thought with a reluctant sigh. If there was one thing he knew for sure, Hermione had no intention of leaving tonight, and once her head hit the pillow she would be out like a light until morning came.

Looking down at his dust covered clothes he sighed figuring he should at least change before heading out again. Quietly he snuck into his room, amused to see that he had been correct in assuming Hermione would be out seconds within laying her head down. He reached into his wardrobe and pulled out a nice pair of black slacks and a blue dress shirt that was a favorite of Hermione's and walked into his excessively large bathroom to change and clean the dust from the rest of him. A few minutes later he slid a Rolex watch Hermione had insisted he buy to commemorate his first trip into muggle London onto his wrist and rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up to just beneath his elbows (where he felt they were most comfortable) and grabbed his cloak on his way to the door.

Just then he caught sight of Hermione staring blearily at him, "I love you," she muttered sleepily, clearly not fully awake.

Draco smiled and moved to place a soft kiss on her forehead, "I love you too," he replied, his lips moving close to her skin, "Now you get some rest alright?" Hermione gave a small nod and snuggled further under the blankets that smelled like Draco with a small smile.

Carefully Draco smoothed some hair from her face before turning and heading out the door and flooing to Diagon Alley. Not wanting to be held up in his mission to find Potter he went about his business quickly, arranging to have everything sent to Hogwarts as soon as possible. Once his business in Diagon Alley was complete he stepped out into the middle of one of the nearly empty cobbled streets and took off his cloak (seeing as it was unnaturally warm for being October) and shrunk it into his pocket as he contemplated where to start his search.

From what George told him, it sounded as if Potter was feeling somewhat guilty for what was going on between Hermione and the family of Weasleys, George excluded of course, so it was unlikely that he would be found at that shack they called a house. Potter had also alienated his other friends when he had chosen to listen to Weasley over Hermione, so it was unlikely that he would be at any of their homes, Order Headquarters was a possibility, but unfortunately he didn't have any way of knowing where exactly that was, so that was out.

Draco thought a little longer before deciding that there was one place he could look, he felt it would be unlikely that Potter would actually be there, but it would be a start. With that thought in his head, Draco shrugged and turned on his heel the CRACK of apperation following closely behind.

DHDHDHDHDHDHDH

Harry was on his feet, wand in hand and a hex on his lips before his mind even caught up to the snap of a twig that the rest of him had instinctively heard, "Malfoy," he cursed, lowering his wand as he tried to still his racing heart, "What are you doing here?" he demanded gesturing to the cemetery they were currently standing in.

Draco raised an eyebrow and lowered his hands from their surrendering position…no need for Potter to know how proficient he is at wandless magic, "What do you _think_ I'm doing here Potter?" he sneered, shoving his hands in his pockets and stepping closer to his school boy enemy.

"Trying to get yourself killed from the sounds of it," Harry grumbled, not putting his wand away, who knew what Malfoy was up to.

With a small derisive snort Draco shook his head, "I was one of the best Aurors, if I didn't want you to know I was here you wouldn't know, I was trying to alert you to my presence in an unthreatening manner," Draco eyed the wand still clutched tightly in Harry's fist.

Harry slowly put his wand away, his eyes not leaving Draco's form, "How did you find me?" he asked, acknowledging the truth of what Draco had said.

Draco rolled his eyes, "I was also one of the best Trackers in the department if you'll recall, so I took a lucky guess and here I am," Draco loosed one of his hands from his pockets and gestured around them, mockingly echoing Harry's previous movements.

"Why?"Harry demanded, looking behind Draco subtly trying to detect anyone else nearby, enemy or not.

Draco moved forward until he was a mere five feet in front of him, "Because you made my fiancé cry," he stated with a steely glint in his eyes, "And I'm not okay with that," Draco watched with some surprise as Potter dropped his eyes to the ground and his shoulders relaxed from their defensive stance to a drooped guilty position. But without giving Potter the chance to say anything he spoke again, "What I can't figure out is why you choose to believe Weasley without even trying to get Hermione's side of the story."

Potter turned away from him to look down at the gravestones as if turning his back to Draco would somehow protect him. But rather than letting Potter hide from him, Draco moved forward until they were both standing side by side staring down at the graves of James and Lily Potter, noticing absently that Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Nymphadora Tonks Lupin were also buried off to the left of the couple on James side, while Severus Snape was buried to the right on Lily's side.

After a minute he spoke again, this time in a quieter voice, it seemed appropriate given their location, "You know I used to watch you three back at Hogwarts—well," Draco paused and shrugged, "Hermione mostly—but if there was one thing I notice over the years it was that while there were a few hundred times that Weasley and everyone else let you down, Hermione _never_ did, not once!" Draco stated vehemently, "She was there when everyone thought you put your own name in the Goblet of Fire; like you were smart enough to do that," Draco muttered as an aside, surprised to hear Potter give a small snort of amusement, "She was there when Umbridge, the Inquisitor Squad and I caught you and your friends, despite my best effort to let you all get away."

Harry turned to look at him with a disbelieving look that made him clarify, "Well okay, despite my best effort to let _Hermione_ get away, what difference does it make, regardless it was Hermione that got you out of that situation, Hermione who tried to talk you out of your self-imposed suicide mission to rescue your not-so-kidnapped godfather, Hermione who tried to warn you about that stupid potions book you found in sixth year that lead to you beating me in Potions and discovering that stupid spell that hurt like a—"

"I'm sorry," Harry interrupted suddenly, "About hexing you I mean," Harry looked down at his father's grave and gave a small grimace, "I never wanted to be the person who did things like that just out of spite, and even though you _were_ up to no good, you still didn't deserve…_that_," he gave a small shake of his head but didn't say anymore, leaving Draco to stare at him in surprise.

"Right, well," Draco stammered, not quite sure what to say to that, "Don't interrupt me," he snapped, trying change the subject, "where was I? Oh yeah, and while you were on that hunt for horcruxes—"Draco stopped when Potter turned to look at him in surprise of his own, "What?"

Harry paused, "How do you know about that? The hunt I mean," he asked his brow furrowed.

Draco sighed, and shrugged, not sure if he really wanted to explain it all to Potter but willing to do so if it meant he would talk with Hermione again, "Did Hermione ever tell you about a two way journal she found in her bag in sixth year?"

"No," Harry replied in confusion, "What do you mean a two way journal?"

With a sigh of faux exasperation, "I mean like that journal my father gave the Weaslette in our second year, except without the evil soul possession part. Two way journals are like what I understand the muggle form of texting to be like," Draco frowned at the astounded expression on the other man's face, "Honestly, I'm marrying a muggleborn, the least I can do is find out about where she comes from…not to mention the fact that muggles are just absolutely fastinat—" Draco stopped suddenly, realizing what he was about to say and cleared his throat, avoiding the look Potter was sending his way, "Well anyway, Hermione found one of these journals in her bag in sixth year a few weeks after she had a particularly…emotional encounter with me. She didn't know for sure until recently, but I was the one who gave the journal to her."

Here Draco paused, suddenly realizing just how much potential soul bearing and secret sharing it was going to take to tell the story. The image of Hermione crying earlier floated into his mind making him nearly groan in frustration, he was so whipped!

"What you have to understand Potter, is that I never wanted to be a Death Eater. I never wanted to follow Voldemort, I didn't want to be evil. I idolized my father, all children do, but eventually I came to realize that he wasn't as perfect as I had always thought," Draco paused when he thought he heard Potter mutter something about understanding the feeling all too well but when Potter didn't continue he went on as if he hadn't heard anything, "But by the time I had that all figured out, Voldemort had _me_ figured out. He threatened my family, my _mother_. If I didn't do everything he said, he would've killed them first and then me. By that time my father had fallen from grace, and I didn't see any way out," Draco sighed remembering, "It was either Dumbledore or my family."

Draco looked at Potter carefully out of the corner of his eye to see if he was still listening, "Hermione found me one night a few days after our little encounter and claimed to be on my side, she told me there was a way out, that I wasn't alone, that I didn't have to keep everything bottled up inside me. I had never thought someone so completely _good_ would ever say something like that to me, besides the fact that I was absolutely in love with her by that point anyway. But I knew I couldn't take her offer, not without placing her and everyone I cared about in danger, so I told her off, and went to buy a twin journal set the next Hogsmeade trip we had so that I could follow her advice without her knowing."

Harry was staring at him head on now, making it difficult for Draco to avoid his stare, "Through that journal Hermione and I got to know each other better than I have ever known anyone in my life. When I finally told her that I was a Death Eater, she stopped talking to me for a little while, as she was feeling very suspicious, she came back later and explained her concerns, but told me that she trusted me. I think she suspected even then who I was, but she never said anything. I warned her to be prepared for the attack at Bill Weasley's wedding, I told her where you all could hide where Voldemort wouldn't find you.

"By this point I was so tired of living in fear I was very strongly hoping that you would win, and I was going to do everything I could to make that happen. I warned her about Death Eater attacks, raids, and where their trackers were searching. She told me about your search, and bounced ideas off of me, she explained about how the Horcrux was making you all act out, and she told me about Weasley leaving you two to your own devices like the coward he is."

Draco finally forced himself to look back at Harry, "She wrote me about that weekend that Weasley attacked her in her own apartment, and I can't even begin to fathom how to explain to you the pure hate and rage I was feeling for that pathetic excuse for a man. It was made even worse when I showed up to work on Monday to find him spreading rumors that weren't true. Then to top it all off, you refused to believe that Ronald Weasley could ever stoop so low, yet I distinctly recall several occasions where he did just that!" Draco took a deep breath and lowered his voice, "Yet despite the fact that you took the _wrong_ _side _yet again, Hermione still misses you."

"Really?" Harry questioned hopefully, "Why?"

With a roll of his eyes Draco scoffed, "Don't look at me, I personally don't see the appeal, but I just spent the afternoon telling myself that I would do or say or be anything Hermione needed me to do or say or be if it would make that smile of hers appear on her face again. So here's how it's going to happen, you are going to come to Hogwarts and beg for Hermione's forgiveness tomorrow night, and when she inevitably grants it, you are going to take her out to dinner—don't get any ideas!" Draco stated warningly, surprised with himself for the small joke, "and from there you will continue to try and make it up to her for the rest of your life by being an even better friend to her than she has been for you."

Seeming a little flustered, Harry nodded his head, hesitating for a minute before slowly questioning, "If I can ask Malfoy, what exactly happened that weekend before things all went to Hades? I mean," Harry rushed to add, "I heard Ron's version of the story, but as you've pointed out that isn't always the real story."

"Don't you think you should have asked for the full story _before_ you abandoned Hermione?" Draco snapped, finally losing patience with him.

Harry clenched his jaw and looked away from the blonde, "I've been telling myself that same thing ever since Hermione first walked out of my office, but I was so sure she would never want to speak to me again that I decided to just let her be. The Weasleys were, are…_were_ the first family and friends I had ever had, and I was so scared of losing them that I let go of the one person who was _most_ like my family. You will _never _know how much I regret that decision, but I can't change it, I can only go forward and hope to fix things."

Draco stood still and silent for several moments while he simply studied the war hero in front of him. Neither man had ever seen the other so unguarded, so open, and it was strange for both of them, but instead of pointing it out Draco started into the story, telling Harry in detail what had happened over that weekend, then the confrontation between Hermione and Percy and later Ginny and the rest of the Weasleys, with the exception of George, through the medium of multiple hateful letters.

He told Harry about Hermione discovering who her real friends were the hard way, and how close she had become with Neville, Luna, George and Angelina as a result. There was a moment where he paused to take in the appropriately ashamed expression on the war hero's face with a small amount of approval before he went on to haltingly explain that it was these same friends that had encouraged her to come and speak to him, leading them to where they were now.

Harry stared down at his shoes in silence for several long moments after Draco finished speaking, part of him was feeling absolutely guilt ridden for even allowing himself to entertain the thought of Ron telling the truth about Hermione for even a second, the other part was feeling overwhelmingly irritated at the Weasley family; both because of what they had done to his best friend, his sister in everything but blood, and also because as a result of this he no longer could look at them with the same longing again. To him they had been the epitome of everything a family should be, but now, Harry gave a sigh, now he knew better.

"I come here sometimes for peace and clarity," Harry stated suddenly and seemingly out of the blue, "I don't know what it is about this place but there is always a sense of calm here, even when we were in the middle of the war—"

Here Draco spoke up briefly, "It's an ancient spell," he started to explain for lack of knowing what else to say, "It was originally intended to give the dead a sense of peace and rest in the afterlife and it was just a bonus that it happened to work for those visiting the cemeteries as well. There are very few wizarding cemeteries that still have the charm performed on them anymore, but Godric's Hollow, being as old as it is, is one of them."

Harry looked intrigued by the information and nodded his head in understanding, "Right, and because of this calm feeling it makes it easier to think and to remember things…" Harry paused and Draco simply waited for him to get to the point with an expression that made Harry smirk at the Malfoy-ness of the look, "I can't remember the last time I read a report from Ron," he jumped to the point, " I mean, he's gone on missions like everyone else in the auror department, but I don't remember the last time he actually did the paperwork."

Draco gave him an incredulous look, "So?" he replied, "I tried to tell you something similar the day I quit but you wouldn't listen," he stated calmly.

"Yes, and I'm sorry for that, particularly now that I know you're right," Harry took a deep breath, "I was also thinking about Ginny, and how for the last two or so years I've been almost certain that she is cheating on me, but I keep making excuses or ignoring the evidence…Molly has always been the mother I wished I had, and I've been so blind to her faults that I let her hurt the one person that is most important to me," Harry shook his head, "Now I can't ignore or avoid any of that, and I wasn't sure I could go through the upheaval of losing all of them, not by myself."

Here Draco felt obligated to say something, he didn't know what it was, but he was beginning to feel like he and Potter had made a wrong turn somewhere in that past, that just one different word from one of them could have set them on a simpler course to becoming friends. Now, standing here and listening to Potter's admittedly slightly pathetic woes, Draco felt as if that one different _right_ word was on the tip of his tongue, as if the second the words were out of his mouth he and Potter would end up on an inevitable course to a reluctant friendship.

Good Godric he was turning into a Hufflepuff! But even that thought didn't stop him from opening his mouth and allowing that series of words to flow from his mouth, "You know, I would think that if Neville, Luna, George and Angelina were willing to accept _me_ into their circle of friends I don't think it would take much convincing to let you join as well," Draco paused here for a second, "Two or three Saturdays every month we get together for a game night of sorts, you're welcome to join if you'd like," now feeling thoroughly uncomfortable Draco began to back away, "But not until you make things right with Hermione!" he added, in a tone that was more like the Malfoy that Harry knew.

Harry watched Draco walk away with a small smirk that was almost a smile on his face; maybe he had been wrong about Draco all these years. After hearing about some of the things that were surely on a much longer list of things that Draco had done to help the light with the war, Harry couldn't figure out why he hadn't seen it all earlier, the potential in the other man to be good, better than his parents, to maybe even be a friend. Dumbledore had seen it, hadn't Harry stood helplessly to the side while Dumbledore tried to convince Draco switch sides? Hadn't he seen the wavering expression on Draco's face before Bellatrix and Snape had shown up?

Harry looked down the grave of Severus Snape as he thought, he had been wrong about Snape, and he'd been wrong about his parents, yes they had been good people, but they weren't the infallible heroes he had thought them to be; why couldn't he have seen that he had been wrong about Draco Malfoy as well? Hermione's words from the day Draco had quit came flooding back into his mind, "Y_ou never did grow up when it came to judging people,"_ she had told him, and he now realized she was right.

Well that was about to change, "Right here right now," Harry murmured out loud to himself as he looked down at the graves of the people he loved most and who had changed his life, making him into the man he was today, "I swear the judging is over. I will be the person I always wished my father had been, the person I used to think Albus Dumbledore was, the person that I should have been from the beginning. No more judging, no more ignoring, no more avoiding what I know and what I can do."

Harry sighed, it was going to take some major changes to be the person he now had planned out in his mind, a person he wasn't really sure he had a right to be; but he knew that the changes would only make him stronger and better prepared to be the person many people already thought he was. The war was over, he _won_, it was time to stop hiding what everyone already knew, he was a very capable wizard, and he had the ability to make things better for many people because of who he was and it was time he started acting like it. He would never let the power and image of being a war hero go to his head, it was probably impossible for him to do so, but he did have power and he did have influence, and it was about time he started using it for the better.

Starting tomorrow with Ronald Weasley there were going to be some changes made in his life.

**A/N:** I have to say, I get a real kick out of writing mean!Molly, it's kind of a problem sometimes. Anyway I recognize there isn't a lot of revenge in this chapter, there was some, but believe me when I say the next chapter has it. If you enjoyed this or didn't, let me know and **REVIEW! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anyone or anything in this story, except the plot, that's mine.

**A/N:** First of all I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed this story, I had no idea this was going to be such a hit. The story originally was just going to be one long one-shot but then it kept growing and growing, and you all kept asking for more. I'll be the first to say that revenge isn't something I am personally very good at, and there may not be enough in here to satisfy every need (and there seem to be a lot of needs if your reviews are anything to go by) but I hope you'll enjoy it just the same. Anyway, read on lovely readers, and enjoy!

**All I Want  
Chapter 5:**

Harry stared down at the files in front of him in disbelief. No, it wasn't really surprising; he had partially expected to find what he had. He had been so willing to avoid his job as Ron's department head in favor of being Ron's friend that he had completely avoided the conflict that he was inevitably about to be a part of any moment now. A conflict that was most likely going to be worse than it would have been if he had just caught the problems when they first started.

How could he not have seen this? Harry shuffled the papers in front of him around a bit, knowing without looking what they said: Ronald Weasley had not done a lick of work since Harry had been promoted and Ron had been given a new partner. He had verbally claimed to be involved, but as Harry had suspected earlier, there hadn't been a single report turned in that corroborated his stories…not even in the reports that had been turned in by his multiple varying partners. That was another thing: Ron held the record for the most partner changes the department had ever seen.

As much as he hated to admit it, even though he had already done so out loud to the man, but Malfoy had been right…was still right, and Harry had no idea about what to do. Okay, that's not quite true, he knew what he had to do, it's what he would do if it were anyone else in the department, he just didn't want to do it.

Just then Ron's typical half hearted knock sounded on his office door at the same moment the door was already opening. Harry watched with new eyes as Ron sauntered into _his_ office as if he belonged there and plopped himself down into one of the two chairs in front of Harry's desk.

"Hey Harry," Ron stated with a grin as he lifted his feet to rest on the edge of Harry's desk in a move that was so routine Harry hadn't taken time to notice how much it irritated him before, "What's up?" Harry stared at Ron's feet, trying to figure out where to start. Ron seemed to take this as confusion about why he was here and spoke again, "You left a note on my desk telling me to come speak to you when I got in," he stated as if Harry were too slow to follow his words.

Now Harry looked at the clock pointedly, it was just after eleven, "What time did you get here?" he asked, though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer, it seemed as good a spot to start as any.

Ron raised an eyebrow and looked at the clock as well before looking back at Harry dumbly, "Just a few minutes ago, why?" he asked casually, not at all concerned.

Harry waited for Ron to figure it out, hoping he had not let this go on for long enough that Ron really didn't see a problem; but when the silence simply stretched on he gave a heavy sigh of resignation, "Work starts at eight. You're three hours late."

Slowly Ron removed his feet from the desk and sat up straighter, "So?" he asked slowly.

Harry also sat up straighter, attempting to subtly assert his authority, "It has come to my attention that you have been making yourself an exception to many if not all of the rules."

"What?" Ron interrupted, now fully alert.

"You show up late to work, you don't actually _do_ any work. You have submitted several pointless complaints while others are consistently complaining about you. You haven't filled out a report since we were partners, you fight with other aurors, you have had more complaints lodged against you by non-aurors than everyone in the department combined in the last twenty years. You take credit where you deserve none, and after investigating it has been discovered that you have been spreading rumors around the Ministry about things and people that are not true," Harry stopped and assessed Ron's incredulous expression as he waited for the predictable blow up.

"Is this about Hermione?" Ron suddenly demanded, his eyes narrowed.

Harry frowned, "The last comment about rumor was partially about Hermione, yes," Harry noticed Ron seemed surprised that he had acknowledged his comment, "But I'm also talking about the rumors you spread about Draco Malfoy, Timothy Jerock, Narcissa Malfoy, even _Severus Snape_, a _war hero_ who cannot defend himself. There's also the rumors about the fake budget cuts, about me leaving the department more than once under your control, when my second in command is Barthens, not you."

"So what? You're going to fire me?" Ron sounded sarcastic and mocking, making Harry study him closely. He didn't actually look concerned in any way.

"Why shouldn't I?" he responded quietly, "Give me a reason Ron."

There, the concern finally appeared dimly in the other man's eyes followed quickly by anger, "A reason?" Ron snapped, "We're best friends Harry! You shouldn't need a reason not to _fire_ _me!_"

Harry felt his heart sink, for just a moment he had hoped that Ron could give him a reason, or at the very least act apologetic for what he has done and ask for another chance, maybe even just a promise that he'll do better. Yet somewhere in his mind and in his heart he had already recognized that the Ron Weasley sitting in front of him was no longer the Ron Weasley he went to school with and he couldn't help but feel that part of it was his fault; he had let Ron continue acting this way for far too long.

"Honestly Ron?" Harry paused, "That's the only reason I _haven't_ fired you," he spoke calmly, resigned to the fact that he may lose his best friend as a result of what he now knew he had to do, but he had to do it, it was the right thing to do, and maybe Ron would learn something from it, though Harry doubted it, "I have to be fair to the rest of the department," he nodded his head towards the door, not taking his eyes off of Ron's increasingly red face, "They come to work on time, they do what they are supposed to do, they don't lie or spread rumors and they don't use the fact that they know me as a get-out-of-jail-free card," Harry noticed Ron's confusion at this muggle reference but ignored it, his point was clear enough, "I don't have a choice in the matter Ron, but even if I did, I still believe this is what is best for everyone involved. I'm going to have to let you go. You have until the end of the day to clear out your office and leave."

A heavy silence fell over the two friends as they stared at each other, Ron in disbelief and Harry in a patient acceptance of the blow up he knew was coming. Sure enough not minutes later Ron burst to his feet, attempting to use his height as an intimidation tool, his face red and seething with anger and embarrassment, "How can this be what is best for everyone?!" he yelled, "What about me?"

Harry calmly raised an eyebrow, "You need to remember what it's like to work Ron," he stated clearly, "You haven't honestly worked a day since the end of the war. Even when we were partnered together you would sit back and avoid doing anything too difficult. I let you get away with it, thinking that you deserved a break after the war, but it got too out of hand, and I think you forgot what working for something feels like. I just hope losing this job will help you wake up."

"Wake up?" Ron exploded, "Wake up? You're the one who needs to wake up Potter!" now this surprised Harry, Ron hadn't referred to Harry as Potter since their Hogwarts days, and even then it was quite rare, "You'd be dead if it weren't for me!" he hissed, "I have saved you're life more times than I'd like to count and this is how you repay me?"

Harry gave a small humorless chuckle, "That's debatable Ron," he said simply, "I believe that if you think really hard you'll find that most of the times _you_ supposedly saved my life came as a result of something _Hermione _did, and when you weren't 'saving my life'" Harry snorted, "You were running in the opposite direction if I recall correctly."

"You—you—" Ron looked angry and baffled and quite ridiculous.

Harry gave one last sigh and gestured to the door, "Please Ron, get your things and leave before the end of the day, or I will be forced to have you removed forcefully from the Ministry."

Ron gaped at Harry like a dying fish for several seconds before narrowing his eyes and turning on his heel to stomp out of the office. Harry watching him go with a small frown on his face, he had no doubt that the rest of the Weasley family was about to hear about this and when they did…Harry didn't even want to think about their responses. He looked down at the files on his desk and gave a saddened sigh before deciding to finish filling out the paperwork that came with firing one of his aurors and then go home early.

To Ginny.

Merlin, he didn't want to open that can of worms.

When Hermione had kicked Ginny out of their apartment Ginny had stayed at the Burrow for a while before deciding that it was time for her to move into Harry's flat; without him knowing about it. It was supposed to be a nice surprise, and Harry supposed in some way it was, but it hadn't been part of his plan; and some part of him felt suspiciously uncomfortable and distressed that she had done so. Up until that moment it had just been him and Teddy living in the small two bedroom flat, and it had been nice. But as he thought back on it now, he realized the discomfort and stress at Ginny's unacknowledged imposition was probably when he first began to fall out of love with the witch.

No, the beginning probably occurred sometime after she had been kicked out and he had heard her ragging on Hermione to her mother, telling her lies that Harry knew for certain were completely untrue. It was then he began to see his girlfriend in a completely different light. He didn't like seeing her in this new light and preferred to bury is head in the sand, wanting desperately to stay that young boy in Hogwarts who had his friends and family all in one place, so he continued to ignore the faults he was beginning to see all too clearly.

Harry finished the paperwork and rose from his desk; deciding to drop it off on his way out of the Ministry rather than having his secretary take it. On his way past Ron's office he noticed with part sadness and part satisfaction that the room was bare and empty. He turned his gaze from the office to see the rest of the aurors looking at him curiously from their various desks in what muggle law enforcement referred to as a bull pen. Even the three aurors who had their own privet offices were standing out there staring at him.

At first he worried that they were upset with him for firing Ron and that they would begin to fear for their own jobs, but then he noticed the nods he was getting and thankful glances. Finally it was Barthens, his second in command, who spoke up, "Thank you for finally getting rid of that…"

Harry knew it was unprofessional but he couldn't help himself, "Weasel?" he suggested.

The office broke out in laughter and Barthens nodded with a smirk, "Yes," he agreed, "If I had to take orders from that 'weasel' one more time I don't think I could be held responsible," several people nodded their agreement with his comment.

"Orders?" Harry repeated, "You held rank Barthens," he stated in confusion.

"And Weasel had your ear, we all saw what happened with Malfoy," again more nods of agreement.

Harry looked at his men and women in surprise, "So if given the choice between Weasley and Malfoy—" He was interrupted as several voices spoke up at once all of them saying Malfoy's name. Harry shook his head and readjusted his glasses, "And none of you brought this up to me because…?" he asked, looking around curiously, already suspecting why.

"Well, sir," a first year auror stepped forward, "You're Harry Potter."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "And you're Jordan Wroth," he replied calmly, trying to ignore the surprised expression Jordan was now wearing, clearly the man hadn't thought Harry knew who he was, "What's the difference?" he looked around at the faces looking back at him already knowing their answer, "Let's get one thing straight," he lifted his voice, speaking with the clear voice of a leader, "We are a team. Teams need leaders, but they also need followers. We work together, we fight together, we win together or we die trying. I am no more important than Auror Wroth here; it is my job to lead, yes, but if you _ever_ have doubts or questions, it is your job to voice them. If a team doesn't trust each other enough to ask questions or voice their opinions, then they are not a team. Do not blindly follow those in charge, but even when you question them, show them respect."

Harry looked around, watching as his words sank in, "Ronald Weasley didn't understand any of this, and I mistakenly thought you all did. I will admit I was more lenient towards him than I should have been, and for that I apologize. But believe me when I say that won't happen again. It is my job to make sure our team works together as a team, not as a leader and bunch of resentful followers," Harry gave mock pointed looks at several aurors, causing a few reluctant chuckles, "If there is ever a problem like this again, any kind of conflict between teammates, don't just fill out a report, schedule a time where you can come and speak to me about it and we will sort it out together. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir!" many of them responded, some even giving him mock salutes though there was no official salute in the auror department.

Harry smiled at them and mock saluted back, "Good, now get back to work you mangy lot!" he waved his hand dismissively, his eyes twinkling, feeling as if he department was truly united as team for the first time since he had joined, perhaps for even longer than that. "Oh," he called as he reached the department exit, "And come December we will be having a departmental team Christmas party!" he proclaimed with a grin before disappearing from the department all together, not seeing the astonished expressions on his Aurors' faces. He smiled to himself; turns out he could do Dumbledore pretty well.

DHDHDHDHDHDHDH

Harry apparated to just outside his flat's front door and took a deep breath, the high he'd been on from his speech having faded as he remembered what he was about to do. He used to love coming home, seeing his godson come rushing out of whatever place he'd been playing at to come and give him a welcome home hug always brought about warm and comfortable feelings he was unfamiliar with considering his own home life as a child. He'd hug the boy back, head to the kitchen where Andromeda, who normally watched Teddy during the day, had made dinner, eat and then spend the rest of the night relaxing with his godson once Andromeda had gone home.

Now, however, he came home to a messy flat, clothes were everywhere and dishes piled up. Andromeda refused to come take care of Teddy in such an environment, leaving Harry to bring Teddy to her. The two had quietly decided that Harry should be the one to take care of the boy, Andromeda declaring herself to old to keep up with a little boy twenty four seven. Andromeda, or Andy as he'd been told to call her, had insisted that she come and take care of Teddy during the day despite her protests that she was too old. Harry considered himself lucky that she hadn't reconsidered the situation after Ginny moved in and started wrecking their home, making it nearly unlivable.

Today Andy had regretfully informed him that she wasn't going to be able to take care of Teddy, leaving Harry to try and figure out what to do. He had ultimately decided that since Ginny had quit her job just days after moving out of Hermione's flat, she could watch Teddy while he was at work.

Now he wasn't so sure that was such a great idea.

With another deep, steadying breath Harry reached out and opened the door; "I'm home!" he called, waiting to hear the eager feet come running towards him. Instead he heard a loud crash coming from the kitchen, followed by a string of explicative's that made Harry cringe, "Why you little demon!" Ginny screeched, "This was a new shirt!"

"Teddy?" Harry called again, not sure why he suddenly felt anxious to remove his godson from his soon to be ex-girlfriend's presence.

Ginny came around the corner with Teddy in her arms, both were covered in some sort of batter and flour, "Oh good your home," Ginny sighed in relief, shoving four year old Teddy into his arms, "Now you can take care of this brat," she stated with a small glare at the little boy, "Are you sure Andy can't raise him on her own?" she asked as she began to walk away.

Harry looked appalled that Ginny would even suggest a thing but Ginny didn't notice. Just as he was about to speak something whipped out and hit him in the face, causing him to look down at the boy in his arms, surprised to see that instead of the normally turquoise hair there were several snakes flying around his head in a very medusa like way as the boy scrunched up his face and stuck his tongue out at Ginny's retreating back.

"I didn't know you could do that," Harry stated in surprise, wondering at the expression on Teddy's face, wondering if he had always looked at Ginny with such dislike and if he had just never noticed.

Teddy shook his head slowly, his eyes not leaving Ginny's back, "Me neither," he stated slowly in his cute childish voice with a jerk of his head, "But _she_ just makes me wanna…" suddenly the small form of Teddy was replaced by some sort of demonic looking thing with big pointy ears, red eyes, sharp teeth and black skin. The thing growled at the direction Ginny had disappeared to before transforming back into little Teddy.

Harry gaped at his godson in shock and surprise, "Do me a favor pup," he commented, placing him on the ground once more, "Don't ever do that again okay?" Teddy looked up at Harry in confusion, his eyes questioning him silently, "It was kind of scary," Harry answered quietly as if sharing a secret.

Teddy looked pleased with the idea and nodded his head, "Okay," he said with a shrug, "If you say so Daddy," Harry looked down at him again, remembering just how surprised he'd been the first time Teddy had called him Daddy. He'd felt as if he'd somehow betrayed Remus and had tried to explain to the little boy that he wasn't his daddy, that Remus held that title, to which Teddy had smartly replied with the question, "So I can't have two daddies?" Harry had been stunned as he finished tucking Teddy into bed, all the while the boy's question was running through his mind. By morning he had decided that yes, Teddy could have two daddies, and no, Remus wouldn't be upset with him for allowing Teddy to call him Daddy.

"Hey pup, let's go get you a bath alright?" Harry smiled down at the now pink haired boy who smiled widely back, nodding his head so fast and hard Harry was worried he would get whiplash. Teddy loved baths.

Together the pair went and filled the bathtub and Harry helped Teddy to remove his dirty clothes and set him in the comfortably warm tub once it was filled. He quickly placed two charms on the water, one to make sure no matter how hard Teddy tried, water would not touch his face, even if he submerged himself in the water completely, making it so he couldn't accidentally drown himself; and the second to keep the water warm.

"Thank you Daddy!" Teddy stated, gleefully splashing the water enthusiastically. Harry smiled back at him and cast another spell that made it so the water evaporated once it left the tub and landed on anything other than Teddy.

"I'll be back in fifteen minutes okay Teddy?" Harry told him, fully aware that Teddy wasn't paying any attention to him; rather his focus was completely on the toys that were floating around the tub with him.

Harry left the door open just a crack so he could hear if Teddy called him and turned around coming face to face with an angry Ginny, "I was going to get in the shower first," she stated with a frown.

Rolling his eyes Harry moved her back towards the living area, "You're a full grown adult Ginny, I think you can stand being a little dirty for awhile while Teddy has a bath," absently Harry gestured around the room, trying to subtly point out that she lived in a mess all the time.

"The brat is a kid, what does he know about being clean?" Ginny snapped, pointing angrily in the direction of the bathroom and stomping her foot.

Harry's eyes flashed and moved to face Ginny head on, "We've talked about you calling Teddy a brat Ginny," he stated in a firm voice.

"Well that's what he is!" she insisted, clearly not realizing she was treading in dangerous waters.

"And you're a spoiled, arrogant, annoying, lazy, messy _schoolgirl_ but you don't see anyone pointing that out do you?" Harry exclaimed, finally losing whatever amount of patience he had with the girl, "I was going to do this later tonight after we'd had a nice dinner, but I can't do this anymore Ginny," he said tiredly, "You never clean up after yourself, you only think about what you want, what you need, and you don't take care of Teddy. You refuse to get a job, you gossip and brag and I'm tired of it!" he paused for a moment, noticing that he was once again making another Weasley turn red in the face with anger, "You aren't the same sweet girl I went to school with Ginny," he told her softly, "I fell in love with the girl who was shy and nice and kind to everyone. But you've changed; you aren't even remotely that person anymore."

Ginny glared at him, her fists opening and closing at her sides, "How dare you!" she screeched suddenly, her wand flying to her hand and beginning to send hex after hex in Harry's direction, all of which Harry was able to block, Ginny may have been good, but Harry was one of the most powerful wizards alive, "After everything I have done for you!"

"What have you done for me Ginny?" Harry wanted to know, "The only thing I can think of is a bunch of verbal abuse directed at my godson, increased bills, a messy flat that I'm embarrassed to invite anyone to visit, and the list goes on!" he blocked a few more hexes, "I've already put up with you for much longer than I should. I kept giving you more chances to change; I thought maybe it was just a phase, but apparently not. I can't just think about myself anymore Ginny; I have to think about Teddy too! I have to think about what's best for him, what and who he needs in his life and you aren't any of those things."

Ginny looked outraged, "Then get rid of him!" she exclaimed as if it were obvious, "The brat has ruined our relationship! He's the one who makes the mess, he's the one—"

Harry cut her off, "No, you're the one who makes the mess, and you're the one who won't clean it up. So it's you I have to get rid of," Harry said firmly, his eyes daring her to argue, before he turned and headed back towards the bathroom, "I'm sorry Gin, but I want you gone by time Teddy and I get home tonight."

"And where exactly are you going?" Ginny hissed, stomping after him.

Harry turned to face her, "Out with Hermione," he stated clearly, feeling pleased at the words.

"You're going out with that—"

A hand raised and Ginny found herself incapable of speaking, "Yes, I'm going out with that wonderful, brilliant and hopefully forgiving witch. I should have taken her side all along, but I was too concerned about losing the only people I thought I considered family, _your_ family. Turns out she was a better sister and family member to me than any of you have ever been. I can only hope she'll forgive me for my temporary stupidity," he looked at her with a content expression she hadn't seen in awhile, "Don't you have some things to be packing?" and with that he turned and entered the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind him.

"I was cheating on you!" he heard her shout through the door in a last ditch attempt to hurt him, "With Adrian Pucey!"

Harry gave a humorless snort and shook his head, "I know!" he shouted back, to which he was greeted with surprised silence.

Teddy looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow, "Did you _finally_ kick her out?" he asked with childlike simplicity, as if it had been the obvious choice all along.

Harry just smiled, "Come on, let's get you ready."

DHDHDHDHDHDHDHDHDH

Draco gave a small smirk when he saw her. She was curled up in what she called her Slytherin pajamas, a green tank top with the words "I kissed a Slytherin" written in silver across her chest and a pair of black silk pajama bottoms, a thick book about something or other held on her lap.

"Hey you," he murmured, leaning over the back of the couch to press a soft kiss to the crook of her bare neck, "What are you doing here?"

Hermione gave an exasperated sigh, "I gave up," she stated.

"Oh?" Draco questioned, removing his outer robes and rolling his sleeves up to his favorite position.

She just nodded, "Yes, I was sitting in my quarters thinking about how it was nice not to have any essays or homework to grade—I really should let up on the poor kids a bit—and all I could think about was how I wanted to be down here with you. I had a nice long argument about how I'm a strong independent woman who doesn't need to constantly be near a man to feel complete, and obviously," Hermione gestured around them, "I lost…to me…which made a lot more sense in my head," she frowned as she thought about her words.

Draco smirked, he was probably one of the only people Hermione felt she didn't always have to be overly intelligent around; even when they were with their friends she still held an air of genius about her. But this Hermione, the one who felt comfortable enough around him to allow confusing and admittedly not super intelligent words to occasionally come from her mouth, this was his Hermione, and he found her absolutely adorable, "I'm surprised it took you so long to give in," he teased, pressing slow tender kisses to the long pale skin of her neck.

Hermione gave him a playful glare as best she could considering their positions, and then returned her gaze pointedly towards her book. Draco slowed his kisses to watch her in silence for a few moments before straightening and looking over at the clock; Potter was going to be here soon. Clearing his throat he looked over at Hermione once more, "Why don't you go get dressed to go out?"

Hermione gave him a confused look, "Why?" she asked bluntly.

"It's a surprise," he replied dryly, "Honestly woman, I try to do nice things and you go and ask 'why'," he shook his head despairingly as he walked around the sofa she was sitting on to stand in front of the fireplace.

Slowly Hermione rose from her place on the couch, "Alright," she said suspiciously, her eyes narrowing at him as if trying to read his mind before giving up and moving to head towards his bedroom.

"You know," he called after her, "I don't know why you don't just move down here, most of your stuff is already here anyway!"

The click of the door was the only response he got; this was a common topic of conversation between them. Technically she had moved down here already, she slept here, ate here, and like he had said, most of her stuff was down here, it just wasn't official. Though Draco wasn't going to look a gift pig in the snout…or however the muggle saying went.

Draco gave a small contented sigh and moved to sit down in his favorite chair when he heard a knock on the door to his quarters. Confused and curious about what student was able to gather the courage to approach him at his quarters he walked over to the heavy door and opened it slowly, "Yes?" he started to ask, but was cut off as he realized who was standing at his door, "Oh Potter," he sighed, "it's just you," he ignored the roll of the eyes he received for his comment and open the door wider, "Come on in."

"Is that him?" he heard a small voice ask quietly, a voice that didn't belong to Potter, causing him to suddenly notice the short boy with dark green hair that was holding Potter's hand.

"Who's your friend?" Draco asked before Potter could answer the child's question.

Harry lifted his eyes from where they had rested on Teddy ready to answer his godson's question to look at Draco, "This is Teddy Lupin," he told him, "Teddy this is Draco Malfoy."

Draco stared at the kid, who stared right back, "Teddy Lupin?" he murmured, "As in my aunt's grandson?"his voice sounded very surprised and slightly hopeful, though Harry couldn't figure out why.

"Yes," Harry replied, "Remus and Tonks named me godfather, and when they passed on Andy and I decided that I would raise him," Harry watched Draco carefully, not sure what to make of the man standing before him who seemed very interested in Teddy.

Suddenly Draco crouched down to be eye to eye with the little boy, "What have you done to my cousin's hair Potter?" he demanded, reaching out a pail hand to brush some of the hair away from the boy's face to see it better.

Harry rolled his eyes again, "I didn't do anything Malfoy," he stated in partial amusement, "It was blue and hour ago, and pink when we were at the Weasley store a few minutes ago, and then he turned it green when we got here."

Draco raised his eyes to look up at Harry, "What? Why?" he seemed surprised and confused.

"Because Aunty Mione's favorite color is green," Teddy responded as if speaking to a little child, "Silly," he scoffed with a shake of his head, "And what do you mean cousin?" he asked, referring to Draco's earlier comment.

Draco looked back at Teddy in contemplation for a second, "Your mother, Nymphadora—"

Teddy interrupted, "She didn't like people to call her that, Dad called her Dora, but he was the only one allowed to, but Daddy says that everyone else called her Tonks," the boy rambled, unaware that he was interrupting.

Draco gave a small wistful smile and nodded, "I didn't know her all that well to be honest, but I did know that; Tonks, your mother, was my cousin, which makes you also my cousin," Draco was surprised when Teddy gave him a wide grin.

"Really?" the boy exclaimed, "you mean like how all the Weasleys are cousins?"

Smothering an amused cough Draco nodded, "But there's not that many of us."

"And thank Merlin for that!" Teddy proclaimed shaking his head so fast that Draco didn't even notice the boy's hair changing from green to blonde until he'd stopped moving, "There are waaaay too many of them!" he sounded exasperated and it showed in his now morphing eyes that changed from the blue they had been to a dark silver like Draco's own eyes, "There's never any pie left over after they all eat it, and they make so much noise that Daddy can't hear me talk to him when I try to!"

Draco rose from his crouched position to give Harry a questioning and amused look. Harry shrugged and answered the question he thought Draco was asking, "I guess it will be three of us on our outing tonight," he told him, "I couldn't find anyone to take Teddy while Hermione and I went out. Andy is busy with a muggle book club, and, well, the Weasley's all probably hate me right now," Draco raised an eyebrow at this so Harry would explain, "I fired Ron and kicked Ginny out of my flat," he elaborated, making Draco stare at him in surprise, "And no one else I talked to is available to—"

"I'll watch him," Draco declared, "He can stay here with me."

Now it was Harry's turn to be surprised as he blinked, resisting the urge to take a quick look around the small living area in search of hidden cameras, "_You_ want to watch him?" Harry clarified.

"Sure, why not?"Draco shrugged and gave the boy a smile receiving nearly an identical grin back.

In response Harry simply raised an eyebrow and let go of the mini-Malfoy's hand; the boy took off like a shot, moving from object to object, touching things and asking questions so quickly neither man could understand him. Harry looked at Draco with a small smirk that slid slowly off as he noticed the affectionate look the other man was giving his godson.

Draco noticed his look and reluctantly tried to explain, "I would have been just like him growing up if my father hadn't…well," Draco cleared his throat, "I was always asking questions whenever my father wasn't around, in nearly drove my mother insane, but I couldn't help it, I wanted to know things, everything," he gave a small laugh and a smile, "We'll be fine," he then stated firmly, "Unless you don't actually trust me to watch him."

Harry gave a small chuckle and shifted his weight a bit, "You know, before yesterday I don't think I would have," he said honestly, "But then today I had the startling realization that I sort of already trusted you, at least when it came to thinks at work. I always knew you would do what you were supposed to when you were supposed to, as opposed to Ron, who I didn't really trust at work at all. Then I also realized today that every last person in the department would take you over Ron any day. So yeah, I trust you; and I'm sorry it's taken so long for us to get to this point."

Draco stared down at the hand that Potter was extending in his direction, "Don't worry about it," he responded gruffly, shaking the hand briefly before shoving his hands in his pockets, and turning to watch Teddy.

The now awkward silence that was hanging in the air was dispelled as Hermione suddenly appeared from the bedroom, looking down as she tugged at the bottom of her white slash-neck lace dress, unaware of the three boys staring at her.

"You're turn Drac—" Hermione had suddenly caught sight of the messy haired man standing in her fiancés living area, "Harry?" she breathed.

Harry opened his mouth uselessly to say something but found it unnecessary as Hermione's attention was caught by a blur of green as Teddy hurled himself from behind one of the sofas into a collision course with Hermione's legs, "Aunty Mione!" the boy cried with a large grin.

"Teddy!" Hermione exclaimed, sounding a bit choked up as she bent down to pick him up. Holding Teddy close to her as he clung to her neck, Hermione looked back and forth between Harry and Draco, "What are you doing here?" she questioned weakly, not entirely certain she wanted to know the answer.

However, if she was expecting the answer to come from either of the men before her she was incorrect, it was Teddy who spoke up, squirming until Hermione put him down, "Daddy was an idiot," he stated in a matter of fact tone with a jerk of his head, "He believed uncle Ron and that horrible aunt Ginny over his bestest friend. He is really sorry and really hopes that you will forgive him," then with careful movements Teddy pulled a large bouquet of roses from behind his back, causing Hermione to gasp in pleased surprise as she watched them slowly fade from one color to another, "Will you accept his apology Aunty Mione? Please?"

Draco looked over at Harry in surprise, both at the speech and at having not seen where the flowers came from. To his surprise Harry was looking just as incredulous as he was, and lifted his hands in an I-have-no-idea-what-just-happened sort of motion and shook his head.

"Where did you get these?" Hermione murmured bending down to take the flowers from Teddy.

"I made them," Teddy stated impatiently with clear frustration on his face at her distraction, "But you didn't answer my question, will you forgive my daddy?"

Hermione rose to her full height and looked back at her best friend and future husband, "Why are you here?" she asked Harry slowly, attempting to keep her watery eyes from overflowing.

Harry took a small step towards Hermione before pausing, "Yesterday, we were all at the store…things were said, and I finally let myself listen to what my subconscious had been trying to tell me all along, there was definitely something wrong with Ron's story. I went to Godric's Hollow cemetery," Hermione nodded knowingly and Harry went on, "There I started thinking, remembering the things I had seen and heard the Weasleys doing that I didn't want to see and hear that I had ignored. Ron wasn't doing any work, Ginny was cheating on me, and Molly was constantly gossiping, Percy was using me as a ladder climbing tool, the only people who had stayed the same were Arthur, Bill, Fleur, Charlie and George."

Harry hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I was beginning to realize how badly I had messed up when Mal—"Harry swallowed, "_Draco_ _found_ me and told me things I already knew, and some other things I didn't. Hermione, I'm so, so, _so_ sorry!" he shrugged his shoulders; "I was so focused on keeping the people I thought were family that I lost the one person who actually was. Like Teddy said, could you ever forgive me?"

Hermione blinked absently causing a few tears to overflow before slowly taking a few steps forward until she was standing right in front of Harry. Then with several quick movements she began hitting him. "Don't you ever," hit, "Do that," two hits, "again!" she hit him once more before falling into Harry's waiting arms, with deep shuddering sobs.

Draco watched the two before him with a small smile on his face, already he could see the change in Hermione's demeanor, the world seemed to have lifted itself off of her shoulders and a wide grin, the likes of which he couldn't be sure he'd seen since sixth year spread across her face.

He felt a tug on his hand and looked down to see Teddy, his hair once again green, grinning up at him, "I think she forgives him," he stated calmly with a nod.

Bending down Draco picked him up, "Yes, I do believe she does."

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**A/N:** Soooo… this was a long time coming, and I'm so sorry! My muse hit me on another story that side tracked me for the last couple of weeks. This story could go on forever, but I've to changed its status to complete, at least for now, while I focus on my other stories. Maybe sometime later I'll add more (there is definitely more to be added) but for now, I'm considering this completed. I love hearing from you, reviews make the creative juices flow like you wouldn't believe. So let me know what you think; is this enough, or should I more seriously consider writing more?

Until next time….


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